


No Puedo Entender Que

by Z_Retribution



Category: Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: Black Hat x Reader - Freeform, Dr. Flug x Reader, Multi, Profanity, Reader speaks Spanish, Reader understands English, Slow Burn, Violence, human reader, minor gore, paranormal activity, poltergeist reader, reader is a nuisance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-01-07 18:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12237978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Z_Retribution/pseuds/Z_Retribution
Summary: You aren’t having the best day. You woke with a  hangover, stubbed your toe, puked the remains of last night’s party, stained your favorite t shirt with hot coffee, stayed awake the entire plane ride to America due to a snoring child, popped your wrist and didn’t make it on time to the plane that would take you back home to Mexico. How could this get worse? You getting hit with a Suspended Animation Ray that separates your soul from your body...that’s what. Just one of those days...After y/n becomes a phantom, their soul is abducted and brought to the halls of the infamous Black Hat Manor where they now haunt. Y/n tries everything to become noticed by the captors; maybe they could help get you out nicely or you will just have to continue to bother them until they drive you out so you can find your body. (But not to the point of an exorcism!) Time is limited, and y/n needs to work fast or they may remain like this. Permanently.





	1. Día Mal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GoldTrimmedSpectacles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldTrimmedSpectacles/gifts), [Haxorus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haxorus/gifts).



_ BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE-- _

“Uuugggghhh…” Your mutter was smothered by the duvet over your head. “Snooze…” Your hand darted out from the mass of blankets and pillows and aggressively descended on the snooze button, before retreating back into the warm haven protecting you from the morning’s sunshine poking out from the curtains.  

“Y/n!” Screamed a voice from the other room. “You have to be to the airport in forty-five minutes! Have you packed all of your things?” 

The bed sheets went flying. “FORTY-FIVE?!” You shrilly, startledly screeched. Your eyes darted to the alarm clock on the night stand. It was now 9:15 am.  _ Oh crap...how did I oversleep?! _

With haste, you jump out of the bed, but immediately fall right back down from dizziness, stubbing your toe on the nearby dresser. “ _ SHIT!”  _ You cry out in a very dry and sore cracked voice as you cradle your poor and unfortunately attacked big toe. 

Your best friend, alarmed by the sudden cursing, flung open your guest bedroom door, and it hit the wall behind it with a loud slam. “What happened, y/n?!” He called.

“Head...tripped...toe...caffeine…water...” You uttered to him urgently unable to formulate logical sentences. 

He ran to your side and repeated the words in a comprehensible statement. “You are light headed from yesterday and tripped when you stood, stubbing your toe on the dresser. And you want some coffee and cold water?” Your head nodded. “Got it. I’ll start the coffee and get you some ice, but in the meantime, try to shake off the hangover and be absolutely sure everything that is yours is packed and ready to go.” In a rush, he patted your left shoulder twice and ran off to service you. 

Honestly, he was the best of all best friends you could have ever asked for. Anytime you needed anything, be it advice, comfort, or even just a pleasant conversation, he had you covered every single time. It had been hard when he first moved to Barcelona from Mexico and half way across the world from you, but both of you communicated everyday. He even made it to back to Mexico to visit you.  _ Twice! _ So this time, you had come to visit him in Barcelona for a week. You had taken plenty of photos that would make an excellent addition to your scrapbook of friends, and really had a glorious moment of relaxation with this great vacation. Apparently, you enjoyed yourself at the bar last night, or at least took plenty of shots. It was unlike you to be so irresponsible; you know your limit and everything that exceeds it, but some things just can’t be helped when one is drunk off of a good time.

_ Still though...this is KILLING me... _ Your id complained to your ego. The superego implored the id to be more mature, just as it always did. In the end, the ego was the decision maker. You stood up carefully using the bed frame as a clutch. “Why did I do this to myself…?” You moaned to your past self. 

Even if you weren’t starting off the best, there was no time to lose, literally! It would take your best friend at least thirty minutes to drive you which left you with only about fifteen minutes to pull yourself together. Lethargically, you paced to the opposite side of the room to reach down and collect your streun about dirty clothing which you lazily tossed off to the side when you had gotten back to your friends house early in the morning. 

The intruding sunlight stung your eyes and you squinted them while holding onto the clothes and your queasy stomach. As you stood back up straight the familiar feeling of yesterday’s digestion rose to your throat.  _ Oh, come the hell on! _

You dropped the clothes and ran to the bathroom, letting the bitter, burning sensation drain to the toilet. You heard your friend just outside of the door. “Yeah...you don’t look so well at all, y/n.” His face read that of suppressed worry as he held a thermos of coffee and glass of water close to him.

“No shit, Sherlock….” You hiccuped. He handed you the water and you quickly rinsed your mouth in the sink.

“I don’t know if you should travel back home looking like this. I mean you seem  _ really bad.  _ I don’t mind you staying another day...” He mentioned as you spat out the water to cleanse the disgusting taste. 

“As charming an offer that is, I have to decline it, regrettably.” You coughed a little bit, but your voice seemed much improved. 

He handed you your coffee and you sipped it, making a grimace. “I take it, that is too cool for you.” He read your expression. “I can heat it up for you.” He took it back and before leaving, being the concerned friend he is he posed the question once more: “Hey, I’m serious, do you need to stay here another day? We can always book you another flight.” 

You shook your head and raised your hand in objection. You couldn’t let him pay for  _ another _ thing for you this trip. He already bought you so many souvenirs! “No, no. It’s okay. Keep your money, alright? I’ll be fine. I just have to start moving around to feel a bit more like myself.” 

He seemed hesitant, but he nodded. “Okay...I’ll help you pack.” He went into your guest bedroom and folded the clothes you had dropped. 

_ He’s an angel, I swear. _ You smiled at his kindness. 

 

Finally, you were on the road with your friend, cup of piping caffeine in hand. As he drove, you two had a great conversation about your trip. “It was gorgeous! The pictures of the city you sent me in our messages have always been a beauty to behold, but physically being there in person was just...astounding! The art is bright, vivid, and flawless!” You had a very strong appreciation towards admirable art and music. It spoke to you on another plane of reality in some ways.     

He laughed hearing your praises of the city. “Yeah, I know. I’m lucky my house has a cool balcony view. It’s very relaxing to just sit outside there at sunset with a small votive glass of liquor.” You agreed with a slight nod, recalling the impressively striking and picturesque image of the Barcelona sunset.  

You began to raise the traveling mug of steamy coffee to your lips, but your sensory nerves warned you it was scorching, so you lowered it back to your lap, and began to fumble to recap the thermos. 

“Oh what the fu--” Your friend swiftly turned the wheel as a middle aged lady disregarding traffic signs zoomed past them. He blared down the horn cursing loudly. “BITCH, GET OFF THE DAMN ROAD!” The vehicle jerked to a halt and the coffee splashed on your chest. You yelp in shock of the alarmingly boiling liquid.

“Oh, gosh…” He muttered with his eyes still on the road, but with full awareness of what happened. “I’m so sorry, y/n. Hang on, there should be some napkins down here somewhere…” His hand searched the car floor and rummaged past built up plastic bags and accumulated garbage. 

“I’m okay. Put your hands back on the wheel please!” You blurred out. You didn’t want him to accidentally cause an unnecessary wreck. “I can look for one.”

“If I used them all up, just go ahead and take a few tissues or something. They should be on the back seat.” He informed you. “Some drivers on these roads...They can be a total mess! I know some people don’t bother with licenses because of the nice proximity of everything, but  _ really _ ! If you’re going to drive,  _ drive _ !” He became very easily pissed with irresponsibly, unsafe people.     

When we arrived at the airport, the stain on your favorite t shirt had obviously not come out and tinted the shirt an ugly brownish color when absorbed into the fabric.  _ Great...of course it’s on my chest too… _ You subconsciously grumble knowing it was going to be visible to everyone around you. The ghost of the pounding headache crept around in your mind, but the medicine you took before hopping to the car ride had kicked in and numbed it temporarily. Hopefully, it wouldn’t choose to torture you during the ten and a half hour flight to the United States Atlanta, Georgia Airport. 

Your friend helped you unload all of the luggage and made sure you were in the airport safely. He sighed once you flopped down comfortably in the waiting area chairs, claiming your seat. “Well...I guess this is farewell for now, huh?” He stretched out his arms and bent down to give you a hug. 

You jumped to him and rocked side to side. “I’m definitely going to come back here one way or another. I promise.”

A grin plastered on his face. “I promise to visit you any chance I get...so basically after I get another twenty plus paychecks.” His comment made you chuckle. “Be sure to call or text me when you get back to Mexico City, okay?”

“I will.” You agreed, releasing him. 

“Alright...take care of yourself, y/n.” His hands dropped from your shoulders and down to his sides. He faintly smiled, and turned around, leaving through the airport doors. You watched him grow smaller and smaller as he faded into the parking lot and drove off back to his house. 

You sighed.  _ Whelp...it’s just me now.  _

 

Once everyone boarded, it took  _ forever  _ to actually take off...just as it usually did. You had been sitting alone and watching the airline staff adjust cones, communicate with walkie talkies, and running back and forth doing something of importance. While they scurried around you thought of home.  _ I’m sure my parents will be waiting for me so we can go to dinner.  _ You sank in your seat trying to find a comfortable position.  _ I honestly hope we can have something especially exquisite to finish off this nice trip...Pujol, Quintonil, Azul...Oooh! El Carden- _

“HEY MISS!” A young eleven year old screamed in your left ear. 

You jumped in a bit in annoyance of the interrupting very chipper redheaded and freckled boy, but tried to keep a mature composure being the older one. “Oh, uh. Hello…” It came out like a question but you couldn’t help that very much. He was addressing you in english. You can’t exactly speak english fluently, but you could understand it well enough. 

“My name is Alroy! I’m goin’ to the United States to visit my grandmother!” He energetically exclaimed with a prideful and toothy grin. It was a very adorable display, and you hoped you could say what you wanted to correctly.

You took the time to absorb full meaning before you spoke. “Ah...yes. I am go...ing...to there...as well.” You nodded.  _ Yeah, yeah...that was right.  _ You mentally checked and patted yourself on the back. 

“Cool! You can speak english!” The boy switched to speaking in the more familiar language to me. “I just wanted to see if you knew. I had to learn the language for a long time just so I could sound correct.” 

Relieved that he was no longer going to drill you with the english language, you sighed with a smile and nodded. “Impressive. I can’t actually speak it very well. I’m really only fluent when reading, writing, or listening to english.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Gotta start somewhere. Plus, that sounds like great progress!” He gave me a motivational thumbs up and childish giggle. 

_ Well, I could be stuck on this flight next to worse people. He’s not so bad… _

 

_ Ok...make it stop.  _

After rambling for almost two hours about some english traditions that could have made a historian want a nap, little Alroy fell asleep, exhausted from his speech, and snored like an old man. A very loud old man.  _ Very loud _ . You had nothing with you to block the disturbance aside from tissues. But those hadn’t worked.

You honestly didn’t want to wake him, but at the same time you were hoping he was snoring like this because of sinuses and not enlarged tonsils. You looked over for the mother, who was sitting across from the aisle. She was reading a book, and oblivious to the rest of her surroundings. “Uh, miss…?” You asked to her urgently. No response. You try again a bit louder, but not loud enough to disrupt other passengers. That’s when you noticed a small significant detail that barely stuck out; a clear tube traveled into her ear and just behind the helix shown a grey devise curving with the skin. It dawned on you instantly  _ She’s deaf… _

Unfortunately you didn’t know any sign language, and everyone adjacent, who had been observing the situation, shifted uncomfortably, averting their eyes.  _ Figures… _

You let Alroy slumber on, wheezing noisily in his siesta.

 

_ Finally! Thank GOD! _ The plane landed and you shuffled off in an orderly, but urgent fashion. You had to stretch those poor limbs now! Upper trapezius stretch, quadriceps stretch, standing hamstring stretch, all of the arm stretches, and to finish it off the wrist stretch…

_ SNAP! _

“Ah!” You flinched at the sudden jolt of rushing pain. You pushed it too far back, popping your wrist out of place. “Dammit…” You muttered under your breathe.  _ From one unfortunate event to the next...just one of those days… _

You walked inside of the congested Atlanta airport, clutching your wrist to provide some security. You craned your neck in hopes to read the signs and find a shop that may provide some sort of brace.  _ Let’s see...candy shop, barber shop, food court, another food court...and another food court, and…!  _

A very tall man cut in front of you and continued to travel in the same direction. He towers at least a good five feet higher than you somehow and completely blocks the sign that offered a glint of aspiration. 

In an awkward scramble of your feet, you thought you could cross by him, but it was not so; people only continued to flood from out of nowhere, and take up all available moving space. The only way to possibly get by him and read the sign would be to speak up.

“Disculpe, señor.” You projected out. Strangers on either side glanced at you but there was no reaction, as though you were labeled unimportant.  _ Ugh! I’m in the United States now! Of course! English! _

“Ah…” Your mind blanked with an abrupt slap that numbed your mental processes. “Ah…” The man turned around, acknowledging your existence. “I…” He looked impatient, and your mind frantically bursted with foreign words that cycled in your mind, crawling to your conscience and screaming to be said. You needed to choose the correct word quickly!

“Exercise me, please.” 

He furrowed his brows.  _ AH! WHAT DID I SAY!?!? _

“What do I look like? A priest?” He bluntly said in a deep voice, before quickly pushing himself through the swarm of humans, avoiding you.

You laughed nervously.  _ At least it worked...right?  _

 

You searched the First Aid Store long and hard, but there were no braces that you could find. You knew you had to ask someone, but after the first attempt of talking to an english speaker here you weren’t to confident in your social capabilities.  _ This is why I don’t like being here, or anywhere in an english place for too long.  _ You yearned to be back in Mexico City. 

Your stinging wrist gave you no relief and pleaded you to ask someone where the braces were. Three deep breaths, ten steps, and much muscle implorement later, you arrived at the help desk and folded your hands neatly. 

A young lady in her twenties came to you with an open smile and kind face. “How can I help you today, ma’am?” 

“Donde...ah, I need...a bracket…” You nodded, thinking it sounded like pretty decent english. 

The lady continued to smile unusually wide, but her lip twitches slightly. The corners of her eyes turned to crevices in her foundation powdered skin. “I’m sorry, we don’t carry brackets here, miss. Perhaps try the dental shop?” 

You noticed your mistake, and rather than bothering to formulate a sentence you blurred out what you initially meant to say. “Brace!” 

“They have those too, but I think you should use a more qualified orthodontist clinic.” Her dopey grin was unwavering as you unmasked your face of utter “what?” Your palm met your forehead and applied pressure at the temples. 

You point to your wrist. “Brace…” You say again. 

The woman continued to nod. “Yes, that is a wrist.”

Slowly, you wondered if the woman was doing this on purpose, or if you really were just that confusing for other people. You, not desiring to continue this wasteful conversation any further, chose that now was the best time to retreat. “Yes...Have a good day...you.” With that, you wandered for another pointless ten minutes. 

 

There was no wrist brace  _ anywhere. _ You basically wasted that whole time looking for something that wasn’t stored. The thought made you a bit flustered, but you had places to go and needed to hurry. The plane was about to leave!  _ I can’t believe I squandered all of that time…! PEOPLE! WHY AREN’T YOU MOVING!?  _ Your mind raged. 

Everyone was moving with no motivation and dragging themselves along the hallways like a train of zombies that were too stupid to even get themselves out a building. Your mind focused on the positive though.  _ Just think...three mores hours of this crap, and I can make it home. I can have queso and chips with a cocktail...I can shop for another t shirt since this one is wrecked...I can see my family; mom, dad, my other friends, my gloriously comfy and fluffy bed that needs more attention after a week of neglect...I’m coming! I’m coming home--!  _

An arm blocked your way and you charged into it not knowing it was there. You released the grip on your aching wrist, and the nerves protested against you, sending letters of agony. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the flight has already been boarded.” A young man in a security uniform spoke dreaded words. 

Your heart sank to your legs before your ears even understood what he completely said. You stumbled over the lowered bar of faith as you stuttered, failing to correctly devise full intelligible english phrases. “Pero señor, usted no entiende! No puedo quedarme aquí! Por favor…¡Debo ir a casa!” You whimpered. 

Unmercifully, the guard shook his head whether it be from incomprehension or grim inability to allow your requested action. “I’m sorry, miss, but no. You must wait for another plane.” 

You tried to collect yourself as you sat in another area the guard issued you over to, letting your fingers dart insanely across the keypad of your cell phone to inform your parents you wouldn’t be making it home on time. You couldn’t have supper with them, you couldn’t enjoy that desirable cocktail, you couldn’t even sleep in your bed tonight.  _ Where the hell am I going to go...?  _ You asked, crushed by the defeat of the day.  _ I woke with a killer headache, stubbed my toe, threw up, spilt my coffee on my favorite shirt, stayed awake the whole plane ride here due to a snoring child, popped my wrist out of place, and missed my flight home…! Hell! I haven’t had anything to eat for lunch!  _ How can the day possibly get any worse for you?

After you sent the message to your parents, you called your best friend; he needed to know about all this. 

“Y/n, hey! You can’t be home already, huh?” He asked joyful to hear your voice so soon but confused as to why. 

You sigh loudly. “Unfortunately, I won’t get home at all until tomorrow.” 

“Oh no...that’s awful! What’s going on over there? Are you still in Barcelona?” 

“No, I made it to America, but I missed my flight and so now--” A loud boom radiated through the airport followed by distraught screams of men and women alike. The once zombified crowd was running in your direction, crying out like maniacs. 

“Y/n...y/n…! What’s going on! I heard an explosion…! Y/n!” 

You had dropped your phone. You could not believe what the fuck was going on: witnessing hundreds of people sprinting away from a ginormous inflated sized blue care bear with a daisy twice your size on it’s head. The beast had broken off the roof of the entire facility and towered over, making a thunderous yet unthreatening sound. 

There was another sound present though far more iniquitous than the giant furry creature; a piercing laughter that echoed through the open space and vacuumed the breathable oxygen available for your lungs. Frozen fearful, on your knees you beheld the sight, trembling more than imaginable; the charred skin, dapper formal dress, wide pale green teeth, talons structured at the tip of his fingers, the noteable top hat... _ Oh dear God! IS THAT BLACK HAT!?  _

The demon had on either side of him, a paper bag scientist, with Nobel Peace Prize knowledge he only shared with his boss on orders, and a delusional, psychotic girl with dilated eyes and a hysterical expression. Above and before all of you present was the standing, living gang of maniacs who internationally terrorized the dreams and daily lives of the innocent and the convicted, menacingly looking down from the bear’s shoulders; the maniacs assumed to be long retired from their line of work and maybe even six feet under; the legendary maniacs who were all armed with unidentified devices.

“Any volunteers?” Black Hat called down over the unnerved congregation of unexpecting citizens, cocking back the considerably large unknown gun in his hands.     

This day just officially became a  _ very bad day _ .     



	2. Fantasma

The bitter laughter rang with the shattering glass and terrorized screams of the crowd. The security guards who were armed had even begun to run upon seeing some poor people who had been too slow. 

_ Time to run!  _

You may not be the fastest runner, but as your father told you once: “Just be sure to outrun the last person.” Your lungs numbed themselves from the body’s pumping adrenaline, letting your feet fly away. In these situations, you were pretty good at jumping obstacles and avoiding potential objects that could slow you down; be it weapons, people, tables... Any other time, and you’re an uncoordinated mess. Had you been less panicked, you would comment on your amazing track skills when forced into these undesirable situations. 

You were a total blur and almost at the main exit in minutes, struggling to race the stomping bear. Did you make it there…? No--your morals stabbed your adrenaline harshly until it couldn’t move as you hear another cry; one that stuck out from the swarm. A sound you dreaded. Your weakness. 

“MAMA!!” The sounded drowned every other. It cleared away the coursing state of excitement. “MAMA PLEASE WAKE UP!!” 

Little Alroy from before kneeled on the ground and shook his deaf mother who had obviously been hit; her body limp and unresponsive. The boy’s red face was puffy and poured out water and snot, his eyes blurry and pupils invisible, his legs rocking back and forth as he continued to shake the lifeless looking woman. “MAMA!!!” The arduous shouting of agonizing loss continued. 

You traced a light that glowed above and realized it was a shot from the ray targeting the sobbing boy. You lurched forward without another thought. “ALROY!  _ MOVE!!! _ ” You screamed picking up the boy in a swoop, as well as the mother’s body. Your upper body strength either greatly improved or you got shot with a double dose of adrenaline. You bounded away from the fire of the ray Black Hat shot, and swore you heard a snarl of disgust. 

Your head hesitantly turned around as you sprinted and you saw you were now being pursued by masses of tentacles and guttural hisses of detestation.  _ Oh dammit! No, no, no!!! I’m so freaking DEAD! _ Your legs began to shake and the confidence in saving the two of them had slowly diminished like a flame with no oxygen. You couldn’t run like this anymore; even though the threat lingered right behind you was hovering in a hostile and cocky manner. If you were going down, these people didn’t need to go with you. 

“Alroy, get out of here! Quickly!” You placed him on his feet. “I’ve got your mom, and I’m right behind you... _ go!”  _ You urged the child forward. With your implorement, he fled away as swiftly as he could, much to your relief. You trailed behind, respiratory system about to fail you.

As you tumbled to the ground, so did the ceiling’s light fixtures above, blocking the exit. You rolled the mother aside, out of further harm, and hid her farther from yourself. With minimal energy and exasperated faith, you crawled in a desperate, vain attempt. 

“There you are, mortal.” A raspy voice sneered behind you having caught up. “Let’s see how far you run from this…” The weapon warmed up, and the air became dense. 

_ Not yet!  _ You thought as you flipped on your back, steering clear of the yellow burst of heat. Gasping for breath, you went back on your knees, moving with your forearms; not making feared eye contact with the predator. 

Gagging on your choked inhales you managed to breathe out an ignored command: “...vete…cabrón...” [...go away...bastard…]

You heard sadistic chuckles and the  _ clank _ of metal fall to the ground.“You think I care, nonetheless, understand your words, human?” He cocked back another different ray with a purple energy engulfing the chamber. With a razor edged stomp, he crushed one of your legs under his foot, snapping it loudly. Your agonizing screams fell on the ears of the sadistic animal and he grinned. “Any comprehensible, meaningless, and or bitter last words?” 

I stopped in my tracks, absorbed in discomforting desolation, tossing my back to the ground in another painful snap of my sore hip. “Sí...Te perseguiré hasta el momento en que me permita entrar en cualquier forma de vida después de la muerte, hijo de puta.” [Yes...I will haunt you until the moment I am allowed into any form of afterlife, you son of a bitch.] I coughed up an iron liquid much to my shock.  _ Have I really pushed myself to this? What fate have I just sealed for myself…!?  _

Black Hat shrugged his shoulders. “If only there were a translator.” And fired the ray into your chest. 

 

“A-ah, sir…? W-why did you use that ray…?” Flug stuttered to his boss as they rode the humongous bear home. The scientist referred to the ray used to shoot you. 

“This?” Black Hat pointed. “None of your concern.” He gritted his teeth and shoved the small weapon into Flug’s grasp. 

“It’s because he ran out of power in the other ray he was using, because the squirming human just kept worming away!” Demencia giggled insanely bouncing in place. 

“I said it was _ none of your concern! _ ” He barked leaning into the deranged girl’s face. 

Rather than flinching, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled wider, bringing her face up to his. “ _ GET OFF OF ME!!!”  _ The demon morphed his vocal chords octaves lower in a growl. She released him almost tripping off, but the big 5.0.5. caught her in the palm of his fuzzy paws.  

Dr. Flug cleared his throat needing to readdress his not so firm argument. “Y-yes...your reasoning is perfectly fine, sir! Never once d-did I doubt you, but this was still a work in progress…” He cowered, already guessing Black Hat’s reaction. 

“What kind of ‘work in progress…?’” He curiously, but in annoyance, asked his genius with a paper bag. 

Flug gulped. “A, ah, Suspended Animation Ray, sir, just like you ordered a week ago. It should remove the soul from the body, and leave the body completely intact as an empty shell, for lack of better words. O-Of course, I hadn’t actually finished working on the device, so I don’t know if it even effectively worked as you desired it to. I was trying to discover a way to trap the soul and guarantee that it wouldn’t move on or be wiped from this existence. That way you could hold souls hostage.” 

“Oh, yes I do remember issuing you to do that...” Black Hat drummed his fingers in recollection as he dismissed the general concern Flug held about the topic. “That’s not so bad. At least they are dead.” He cooly waved his hand recalling your irritable presence.  

He slumped back informally for a moment. Nothing peeved Black Hat more than a pesky human who refused to go down without a fight, and denied just withering away in submission to his triumphant glory. Fear and respect from the petty lifeforms brought him joy. Encountering a stubborn person with a will to power made him ill. Sure sometimes it was amusing to watch them struggle, but only once they were in his grasp and he was positive he had full control over them; unlike how you had been for him.  _ The thought of that insolent cretin revolts my own regurgitated waste!  _ Black Hat recalled your words he didn’t apprehend.  _ At least that’s over...That was a nice little killing frenzy. It really relieved some stress. I need to do this more often.  _ He hummed in agreement with his thoughts and sat silently, listening to the hysterical fright of the town they currently stepped upon. 

After this, it was back to Hatsville to record a new instructional and marketing video.

 

Sirens blared. Grey clouds covered the sky and allowed little passage for light. The crimson splatters of remains and haunting chill of those gone lingered heavily in the atmosphere. Weeping families waited outdoors awaiting grim tales of how the links of their lost family members had been severed and broken too early.

There, among the ash and rubble, laid the body of an odd hero who had a very bad day, but had never lived to tell the tale. There was movement. Personnel in the area flocked to the ripple of the water’s surface. 

“Who’s there?” They called. “Do you need assistance?” A middle aged woman forced herself into visibility.

Cries of a numb tongue that never formed perfect language filled the area. It was the mother you had saved. She was alive. 

Quickly they ran to her side and communicated in symbols, aiding her back to her unbalanced feet.  _ Where is my child? What happened? Is Alroy okay? Please tell me! _ She flailed her hands with meaning. 

“Your child may be outside, miss.” The woman gave her enough vague assurance to calm her hastily reacting nerves with finger motions and soothing pats. 

“Officer!” A young man addressed the woman holding up Alroy’s mother. “Another body has been founded here.” He pointed to the left behind him where your cold body was stretched out frozen in a paralyzed state of terror. Your eyes glazed over and showed signs of pallor mortis. 

“You know what to do, Johnson! Come on; don’t stall!” She snapped at the cadet.

“But ma’am...the sergeant told me to inform you that the body has no bullet wounds, no excessive bleeding, and besides  _ appearing _ to be dead, they are showing all other signs of life; the body’s heart is beating, the respiratory system is unregulated, but functional, as well as other necessary bodily functions.” 

“What are you getting at, Johnson? Is it a coma?” She rushed him along as she continued to move and balance Alroy’s mother. 

“Not a coma...What I’m saying, Officer Hughes, is that...it looks as though some of these people declared dead, may not be dead at all. Black Hat may have attacked with a variety of terrorist weapons, one which may have been some kind of Suspended Animation Ray...” He swallowed the remaining phrases in his voice box to his esophagus in hopes they would digest and he would have no need to say more.

Officer Hughes gaped slightly at the accusation but maintained her stone bearings. She gathered her thoughts in a couple of moments, having no time for through contemplation of the variety of decisions. “Hand that person over to the paramedics, and demand them be taken to Heroibus Hospitalization and Laboratory at once. They must be examined and contained.” 

“Yes ma’am!” Johnson dropped his salute and sprinted in the other direction, shouting his received commands to the nearby rescue squad and the sergeant who sent him. 

The orders faded to faint whispers with the falling mist in the area as Officer Hughes successfully delivered Alroy his mother he feared had not made it. At last, one glint of hope crossed the mourning crowd like the single dove landing in a tree of vultures. 

 

“Ready, 5.0.5.?” Dr. Flug asked the inflated softy. 

The bear whined, a bit nervous, but nodded. Dr. Flug aimed and fired the Size-Altering Ray Gun, and watched the mutant squirm back to his normal size. Once 5.0.5. was at his preferred height, he proceeded to hug the ground with jubilant sounds. 

Black Hat rolled his eyes, personally finding the atrocity much more useful as a giant terrorizing bear that intimidated people at least from size. Though, admittedly it would be very hard to find him a decent living quarters if he was always fifty stories high. 

“Idiots…” Black Hat muttered per usual. “Get inside.” They obeyed the snappy orders of their boss at once.

“B-Black Hat, sir...Not to trouble you, but where should I place this weapon?” The scientist timidly asked his grimacing master.  

“Where do you think, fool?  _ The lab _ !” He spat. 

“Y-yes, I-I-I n-normally would, b-but, if the ray works as ordered, whoever you shot this at...uh, their soul should be in the c-container.” 

Black Hat’s signature annoyance didn’t flee his expression for a moment. “I know that, twit. I don’t care what happens to that one’s soul. Leave it in there until I use it next, I don’t give a--” The glass container at the end of the ray began to shake. Everyone went silent with peaked interest. “What’s happening?!” Black Hat stepped away.

Flug’s sweat fogged his goggles. “I-I don’t know…!  _ It’s not supposed to do that!”  _ He held it cautiously further from himself. “W-Wha...Who d-did you kill?!” He stuttered in a feminine pitch. 

Black Hat flustered by the unknown activity thought back so Flug could figure this out. “I can’t remember! Some Spanish speaking, strong willed, arrogant, stubborn-ass mortal!” He regurgitated the memory along with adjectives clipped to the side describing your largely opinionated profile in his mind. 

“What did you do to them?!”

“ _ Well, I killed them! There’s that! _ ” Black Hat’s impatience and slight worry surfaced in the sarcastic remark.

“N-no…! What did you  _ say? _ ” Flug reiterated. “Did they say something to you?”

“ _ I don’t know what the bloody hell they said! THEY SPOKE IN SPANISH!”  _

Too late. The glass shattered, and Flug released his loosened grip on the ray, letting it drop to the ground. In the midst of shards and glistening fragments, a translucent figure became visible for a mere second before it faded completely. The witnesses of the phenomenon were washed in immobilization and overcome with stun.

“Oh no…” Flug gasped, stumbling over his own feet. “S-sir...you’ve created a poltergeist…”      

 

You couldn’t see much. The world had an very abstract aura that would make you feel dizzy if you didn’t have the absence of a mind. At least...it felt like that. 

_ But I’m still thinking...I can still see this surreal world that faintly looks like glass... _ The void in your chest sank to your guts.  _ Oh shit, am I really actually dead? This afterlife sucks!  _ You noted very unimpressed.  _ I at least expected the other side to not be complete crap like this. What a let down… _

The sound of voices ceased your thoughts; they were small and distorted, but you knew exactly who the voices belonged to after you noted the particularly horrifying demonic growl.  _ Black Hat?!  _ You guessed it.  _ Oh no…!! Is he the real Devil, and I am going to hell so he can torture me forever in an unending universe of sheer torment! BOLLOCKS!!! MY FINAL WORDS CURSED HIM TOO!!!  _

I looked at hands; fluorescent and radiating a cool sensation.  _ I am a ghost! I’m a freaking ghost!  _ “Great! Just great! I’m going to suffer like this permanently!” 

Panic surged within your transparent figure, rising hysteria consumed your caged spirit.  _ No...I don’t want this…!  _

Insanity wanted you to agree to take what was left of you; beckoning you to the point where you wondered if you should give it. 

_ Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!  _

Your nightmare quaked, violently vibrating the sides of your hollow mind. 

_ LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!  _

The walls of your limited existence began to form crystal incisions with the droning convulsing sways. 

_ LET ME OUT!!! _

Suddenly, it rained diamond fractions of the container which sealed you. 

Your eyelids had been squeezed shut and your knees had bent in reconciliation for the crimes you may had committed on whatever heaven there was above as your conscious had raged. Your soul barely hung in the place which you had floated before the eruption. All noise had been extinguished, but your eyes saw a furnished environment with an almost distinguished pleasant aroma; regal portraits you couldn’t make out images of and a dark earth tone room vibrating a bewildering welcoming setting. 

There were four blurry figures, whose actions seemed forcefully downtempo; so much so, you couldn’t identify the expressions all at once. Perhaps... _ aghast? _ Like they had seen a ghost...

Slowly, your phantom descended and became more and more invisible to the naked eye. A sly smirk couldn’t help but trampede your face; you knew you just freed yourself somehow, and you were  _ positive _ Black Hat would be furious with your victory, but  _ what can he do to you now? _

_ Point two for y/n!  _ You chanted to yourself raising an imaginary glass of champagne as you scurried away with your new paranormal abilities.  


	3. Tostada Embrujada

The thrill of your glorious moment drove you forward. You weren’t sure how, but you naturally began flying as though you were sprinting almost effortlessly. Overcome with astonishment by your satisfying escape, you beamed as though you were a child and darted in a straight path to the exit. 

_ Too easy!  _ You chanted.  _ Freedom is mi--!  _

_ BAM!  _ You hit the door at top speed and dropped to the ground, falling flat on your happy ass. 

_ B-but…! I just flew through that wall a second ago! _ Puzzled by the situation you tried again, standing and stretching out your hand to (hopefully not) feel the door. Curiouser still, your hand interacted with the particles and you touched that surface as though you were still human. 

You straggle back with a little shock, but at least there was the door knob. But you couldn’t grab the doorknob; your hand went clean through. You sputtered.  _ What…?! No! I need to leave! I need to go home!  _

In desperation, you ram yourself against the door, the walls, the roof; not once passing through. You scream in aggravation, pouting like a toddler and reverting to tantrums. You kicked and banged on the divide keeping you from true liberty, unknown to you, causing a racket of rampaging noise and chaos, telepathically throwing objects around you.  

You sank to the floor realizing the truth. Yes, you had gotten out of their grips, but you were trapped; unexpectedly a phantom hostage with no means of escaping the manor.

Soon footsteps stormed down the hall, alerted by the boisterous commotion you made. Unwilling to be more captured than what you already were, in a mindless, depressed, and defeated manner, you eased down, descending between the floorboards into the basement. 

Dr. Flug appeared from around the corner and gasped at the mess. Demencia followed, crawling on the ceiling, and dropping to the rug floor. The room was in almost total shambles, with dents in solid surfaces, portraits left crooked on the walls, a flickering light, and miscellaneous books scattered from the shelves to the far ends of the hallway.  

“Wow...that is one unhappy ghosty.” Demencia whistled.

Black Hat arrived and twisted his facial muscles. “What the  _ HELL?! _ ”  

5.0.5. came, hyperventilating from the hurried shuffle, and collapsed next to Flug. “Yup...this is most definitely the work of a poltergeist.” Flug stated petting his poor exasperated friend.

Black Hat abruptly snatched the unexpecting doctor up by the collar of his coat. “Exactly  _ WHAT _ does that  _ MEAN! _ ?”

“A-AH!” The scientist struggled to inform the boss between the strangulation of the grip and attempt to gather his thoughts. “S-sir! Basically a p-poltergeist is a malevolent spirit who has the ability to cause physical d-disturbances. Th-they are m-manifested from their mind’s desire of vengeance and are n-normally very aggressive! You m-must have killed someone with a strong will to power!” Black Hat stopped shaking him so Flug could finish without so many sharp inhales. Flug swallowed deeply. “Whoever this is will not stop until they feel proper retribution is distributed on the one who pushed them into their premature fate. That someone being you.” 

Black Hat chucked Flug aside. “ _ I know that! _ ” he snapped in annoyance. “How do I get rid of it? They are going to be nothing but a thorn in my side!” 

Demencia huffed. “He just said that they won’t leave until--”

Black Hat gripped Demencia’s wrist and yanked her face closer to his so she could vividly see his snarling growl and teeth of fury mixed with vitriol. “I asked Flug.  _ You _ will  _ not speak  _ unless explicitly directed to.” As soon as his constricting clutch loosened, Demencia crawled up the walls and hissed a small bit from the sting.  

Flug stood up, 5.0.5. helping him refind his center of balance. “R-regretfully sir, Demencia is correct. What I said stands true. You can’t get rid of a poltergeist until they are contempt with some punishment and torment they bring you. Exercising it wouldn’t be a good idea either, considering your demonic energy. I mean, how wise would it be to bring a man of God into a demon’s household to banish another evil?” 

Black Hat made a low guttural hiss with the flick of his tongue. “I’m aware of that, you fool! As if  _ I _ would be that stupid to stoop to _ your _ mental way of thinking!” He referred to everyone around him but himself. 

_ Perfect...this is just what we needed here: a Spanish poltergeist that no one here is going to understand!  _ Black Hat whined in his head.  _ How pathetic. Maybe it’ll give up once they realize I’m too mighty for them to take on.  _

“Whatever…” Black Hat sighed rubbing his temples. “Just...get to work in the lab. Do something productive...5.0.5. clean this mess  _ at once _ !” He waved the imbeciles away as he huffed and puffed like a wolf to his office. 

5.0.5. grunted. This was indeed quite a prodigious wreckage to reorganize. 

 

Ten minutes had past as you contemplated your situation: 1. You are dead. 2. You are a phantom of some kind. 3. You can fly and do a bunch of ghost shit, but for some reason  _ cannot _ leave the nefarious Black Hat manor…

_ Oooooh boy! What a day… _

_ I can’t give up all faith though! _ You levitated in the air and flew in a circle.  _ Sure, I’m dead, but hey…! Now I can do a bunch of stuff that my younger self always wondered, right? This is kinda a dream of mine!  _ Your mind, in attempt to not mourn in despair at this case, acted quickly resilient. It’s not everyday you get a chance to be a ghost, you may as well make the best of what you have. 

_ I should do something grand! But what…?  _ There’s so much you could do. You had figured just flying, becoming invisible to certain people’s eyes, and passing through walls to spy on others would be good enough, but that all seemed to come naturally oddly enough. 

You tried to lean against the wall to think, but accidently went through it like the particles were that of gas.  _ Whoa...I guess I need to be more careful about that.  _

You snapped your fingers as the lightbulb went off.  _ First things first: I need to learn what all I can and can’t do.  _

There was a wooden board lying on the concrete basement floor. It was dusty and only the insects around the area could guestimate how long it had been since the area was cleaned.  _ I suppose they don’t like going to the basement that much. But why...it’s not haunted. Well, it wasn’t haunted before.  _

You glided past the filthy air and bent over to grab the board. No dice.  _ Dang it.  _ You tried again.  _ Come on…!  _ You did it about seven times with the same effect every time. Had you still been human, or anyone other than a struggling phantom, you would look like a total numbskull. 

You huffed.  _ Ugh! “PICK UP THE BOARD!!!”  _

If you weren’t dead you would have been scared witless into the next world. The board shot up from the ground and levitated next to you. You made a startled yelp and flailed back, and the board followed right to your ghostly palm. 

Instantly noticing what was happening, you squealed, merrily kicking your feet in the air. You did it! You held the board. “Yes!” You cheered joyously with laughter. 

Throwing it down, you did it again.  _ Alright...Here board! _ You extended your right arm stiffly as you commanded the inanimate object. Just as ordered, the board bulleted from the ground into your hands. As if it were the miraculous first time again, you giggled delighted. You did a victory flip causing the board to slam back to the ground with a thundered thump.  _ Oops.  _ You smiled.  _ But hey...I can just pick it back up!  _

_ Okay, step one: pick up things is a success. Now what about leaning on things…? _

Hesitantly you slide by the balance beams trailing from the ceiling to the first floor.  _ Maybe it works the same way?  _ You braced yourself incase you would fall through. Despite being a paranormal entity, you could still feel when you physically hit anything. Like when you bounced off the barrier holding you here and slammed to the ground. Your poor rear end still felt a little flattened. 

You reflected on how you picked up the board. You have given it a command for the tactic to work properly.  _ What do I say to it…?  _ “Uh...lean against this…?” 

Like a trust fall, you let gravity take you; and like the joker friend in the group, it let you fall thinking your trust was amusing when crushed. Your shoulder hit the ground and you bit your lip to not howl.  _ Ouch...guess not. For now, let’s not lean on things unless I know it’s solid to me.  _ Not bothering your limbs, you soared back up in the air, patting yourself off and re-catching your dignity that didn’t leave you from being outsmarted by a support beam. 

_ Step two. Fail. But I can still lift and throw things!  _

A devilish smile slathered across your cheeks as you began to think of all your capabilities: flying, invisibility, going through solids, and lifting objects without breaking a sweat. Schemes boiled in the conscious of your mind, being ready to serve you piping hot results.   

_ Oh, I’m gonna have some fun with these abilities... _

Without a second thought or faltering twitch of your smooth flow, you rose above to the first floor of Black Hat manor.    

 

It was time for supper, and the residents of the manor gathered in the kitchen, minus Black Hat who was supposedly working with a client on a video meeting. 

Demencia grunted. “Hurry up and cook, bear! I’m starving!” She rolled around on the table knocking over the salt and pepper grinders. 

“Demencia, stop that!” Flug commanded, pushing her away from him. He seated himself and was occupied with the blueprints of another doomsday device. “You’re acting ridiculous!” 

“Good!” Demencia pouted sitting up. “If my stomach isn’t happy, I’m not happy! If I’m not happy...NO ONE WILL BE!” A rumble echoed from her lower body and she dramatically bent over, leaning off the table and hitting the ground. Her theatrics would make Sophocles applaud. 

5.0.5., unable to tell if Demencia was joking or not, worriedly glanced over, taking his eye off of the stove. He mumbled concerned whimpers.   
“Don’t worry, pal. She’s faking it.” Flug rolled his eyes. 5.0.5., trusting his close friend and creator, turned back to preparing the simple feast. 

Of course, no one noticed you standing in the corner of the kitchen, scheming by the fridge.  _ Let’s see...maybe I should help them with a little supper. You know, with my own special little touch.  _ You saw the bear reach into the spice cabinet to season the meal in the stove pan.  _ Maybe nothing too mean. Afterall, I’m just going to give Black Hat a living hell.  _ You looked at the cartoonish display of the minions waiting to be fed.  _ Then again...they are also responsible for the demise of lord knows how many innocent people...Hm, but what should I even do?!  _

Your eyes averted to the side as you craned your neck around to observe your surroundings. There wasn’t really much. You would have guessed Black Hat, being a snobby, wealthy, and quite foul villain, would have more random ostentatious bits and bobs lying around. From what you noticed, it was a very plain setting. Not drab or anything; just simple and plain an almost nice way: light purple walls, oak table, wide counter space and a pleasant island, plus all the necessities; sink, oven, stove, refrigerator... 

Then there was food in the pantry, neatly organized and sorted with shelves of canned goods, produce, and light, low calorie snacks.  _ Guess they gotta keep up their health some how.  _

One item stuck out to you the most; fluffy white bread. It looked delicious, making you wonder if you could eat food as a ghost. In the movies, you didn’t really see many phantoms complaining about hunger...

The idea sprang in your head.  _ This is just my first time at haunting, so I guess I don’t have to do anything strictly coordinated. Just...let myself go with it. _

You reached out, eyes set on the scrumptious package of bread.  _ Unravel.  _ You thought, and the bag unwrapped itself, raining wheat. 5.0.5., startled, jumped back with the pan still in his paws and let out a frightened squeak. Everyone’s attention was grabbed. 

You smirked at the ambience you had formed, just like in an original paranormal scene. This time, you wanted your voice to be heard. “Suba.” [Rise.] You rang out causing them to scramble to the opposite corner. The bread, possessed by your voice, levitated and soared in the air. It was the most terrifying show that this wheat product could ever perform when viewed in the eyes of trembling witnesses. 

“Th-the poltergeist!” The doctor screamed in panic and slight confusion. 

“Ghosty!” Demencia said spooked, pouncing on the wall. She began to slither up in an attempt to escape.

But the party wasn’t over yet. 

“Bloquee.” [Block.] The kitchen furniture, the table you meant, and additional chairs, floated to the exit and barricaded them in. Demencia fell down, and 5.0.5. lurched forward to grab her. They retreated back to Flug’s side not saying anything to one another, realizing you could hear them. 

After a few silent moments of beholding the demented bread Flug coughed and spoke out wanting to communicate. “I-I’m s-sorry you d-d-died, but p-please! Let us go!”

“Mierda!” [Bullshit!] You boom through the storm of bread. “ Usted deja tantas personas inocentes morir hoy y si yo no estuviera aquí ahora atormentándolo, usted no batía otro párpado!” [You let so many innocent people die today and if I were not here now tormenting you, you would not beat another eyelid!] You hissed in disapproval. Not as though he would understand. 

One by one, you began to toss the bread around; in the stove, microwave, oven, and toaster to heat it up. The scent of warm toast lingered in the kitchen. It may not be the most petrifying action to take, but seeing as this was _flying toast_ at least it was somewhat intimidating. Plus, you wanted to see if ghost could really hungry.    
The scientist sank deeped behind 5.0.5. “I’m sorry! It’s our job! We don’t have a choice!” He screeched like a mouse. 

Your eyes widen.  _ Did he...understand me? _

Without ceasing the symphony of paranormal toast making you had to question. “¿Sabes español?” 

“Y-yes...but I can’t speak it well and only know the basics!” He moved his arms in front of his paper bag as if you would abuse him. 5.0.5. and Demencia stared at him cluelessly not comprehending your conversation through divergent languages.

All movement stopped for a moment.  _ If the doctor can slightly understand me, that means I can communicate easier…!  _ You felt instantly happier upon hearing that joyful news. A smile crawled to your face from the well timed emotions and your phantom figure became more buoyant. You let down the cover of your invisibility, and the three of them gasped in surprise seeing you fully for the first time. There was no color in your transparent body, just a floating aura and cheshire grin. 

_ Finally! Someone here will be able to understand me!  _ It had been too long since you had met someone who could do that, which is why you let your guard down in that one moment. It had been too long since you had met someone who could make you smile from saying something so simple, which is why you let your guard down in that one moment. You almost felt you could trust them...in that  _ one moment. _

In your hypnotized state of being, you nearly missed Black Hat crashing through the furniture obstacle and forcing himself into the kitchen.

“There!” Flug pointed at you, exposing you to the demon’s rage. 

Two inky tentacles sprung out of his sides and shot out to you. 

Snapping out of the content moment, you moved higher and further from Black Hat in a flash. The pissed snarl of a wild, untamed beast leashed on his face, in annoyance that you always had a way to slip away from him. 

He wasn’t done attacking yet though. Black Hat bared his savage fangs, ripped talons from his coarse flesh, and began to faintly morph into a larger, more intimidating version of himself.

Your mind raced and brain turned to mush from bouncing so much of the sides of your head. You were going up against the legendary nightmare of children and adults; the terrorizing monster your parents begged you never to come face to face with; the notorious criminal who retired because there was no hero that could defeat him. 

You are just the residue of one of his victims; a pesky speck of dirt that could be wiped away with a little cleaning spray. 

You had to  _ get away. _

Unknowing what to do, you deplored your toast soldiers.  _ “ATAQUE!”  _ [ _ ATTACK! _ ] Panic rang in your dead voice. 

The entire loaf of bread you had toasted lit themselves on fire and charged at Black Hat like a mini meteoroid shower. 

The oddity of the sight made him pause, not in uncertainty of his actions, but rather in sheer confusion that led him to a small breakdown of system seeing this total disarray, jumble of charred toast. “ _ What?! _ ” Black Hat questioned aloud with scratchy vocals.

His quick pause gave your toasted army enough time to latch themselves onto him and push him back. He clawed the air trying to rid the burning slices. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the resistance. Never would you have imagined on the wildest day or in the most drunken of thoughts the all-powerful Black Hat struggling with toast. 

It was short lived, of course. Black Hat snapped his fingers and your loyal breakfast singed and fell to the kitchen tile as piles of ash; the only evidence you had been present.

You got the fuck outta there, vanishing in your hasty retreat back to the basement.  

Black Hat’s maddened face radiated immense, volatile heat of vexation and seeped radioactive energy. He was not happy. 

_ Not happy _ . 

He was about to tear the limbs of off the first human he saw and bathe in the crimson gore. He was going to find a hero just to stab out their eyes and let them rot away like Oedipus Rex. Then, he would kick a puppy.

The three of his companions, aware of the boiling rage, backed away into the corner and prayed they could disappear, just as you had done five seconds earlier. 

Heaving breathes for a few more seconds he growled through his fangs. “If anyone ever let’s word of this moment slip out of their mouth, I will personally rip out their tongue and stitch their lips together. Do you understand?” He stressed the consonants of his words. They all nodded in rapid unison. 

One irked finger shot up, and they all flinched and the sudden movement of their vile employer. His voice transfigured deeper and more heinous. “First chance you get...First. Fucking. Chance...I want this abomination eliminated.” That statement was mainly directed at his wise scientist, but everyone moved their heads up and down in agreement from fear. 

“Excellent.” He flatly said, reverting to his normal, still unpleasant, appearance. The rim of his top hat shaded his scowl, making his appearance even more ominous. He slowly paced to his office without another sound. 

Once the sweltering boss was out of listening range, Demencia shared her accurately precise and relevant fortune cookie knowledge. “Shit, dude. That was terrifying.” 


	4. Esperanza

Black Hat was furious. All night. You heard him have a mini tantrum as things were strewn about and he raged alone in his office. For everyone’s health, you decided not to rile him up anymore for that evening, and gave them some solace as they slept.  

You weren’t tired in the night though. You stayed awake with some strange, mysterious night vision and endless energy. It was pretty boring, but at least you got to explore the mansion and think of devious plots: disorganizing neatly placed stacks, hiding keys and important files, and especially taking down some of the unsettling paintings. Almost all the portraits had Black Hat in them and the eyes of the pictures seemed much too real. As you passed by one that looked like an apocalyptic world, you shuddered to yourself and glared at the creature. 

Black Hat was a sick demon who  _ enjoyed _ the evils in life. Someone had to punish him. 

_ Guess that’s why I’m here.  _

You continued to pace down the hall in a ghostly manner. The light snores of the slumbering residents became more clear; you made it to the living quarters. Curiously, you peeked your head through the first door. A giant blueberry, quietly resting was all you could see. He was curled in a ball on a huge dog bed, harmlessly snoozing. It was an adorable display. 

Behind the second door was a messy, punk room filled with a jumble of rock vinyls, cut out pictures of Black Hat, and wild plants. There was a light that covered the whole ceiling as she slept. The girl was stretched out on the pink sheets of her bed, wheezing animalistic sounds.  _ Yup. This is Demencia.  _

The next door was plain, and simple. As you observed the room, it was very tidy but random bits and bobs were tossed in boxes labeled to the side. It looked as though he hadn’t unpacked from moving day. In the full size bed with childlike airplane sheets was the doctor himself. You recalled him earlier when you had made your first showing to them: The Dance of the Phantom Toast. He was the only one who had remotely understood what you had to say. He seemed like the one who would want to talk to you the most... _ but probably only to get rid of me.    _

You knew exactly what was in the last door. You weren’t quite sure you  _ wanted  _ to look though. Black Hat’s room was most likely total corrupt space just like himself. Still though, you were bored. 

Black Hat’s room was, without a doubt, the most lavish of all. It was completely furnished with a leather couch seat, two charcoal recliners, and lush, lavish, velvet cushions, blankets, and sheets. You were  _ positive  _ the Queen had slept in worse rooms. There was no denying; Black Hat may be a prick...but look at that style…!  _ DAAAYUM!  _

The demon looked almost peaceful, minus the disturbing grimace he wore in his sleep. The corners of his mouth twitched. He almost seemed unsettled by something. Almost like he was being intimidated.  

Thinking about the way you acted with the ghost toast invasion, made you ponder if maybe--just maybe--Black Hat was the slightest bit frightened by your presence. After all, you are new here; a human that was unwillingly murdered and they unexpectedly brought your dreading and sorrowful soul here to which now you are a haunting entity that curses this manor with a number of well thought out botherations.  _ Could it be that even the most wicked of beings have nightmares too? Could I possibly be one of his nightmares now?  _

You pushed the silly thought aside.  _ Pft! Black Hat...scared of something? Scared of me?! Mierda.  _

You descended beyond the floorboards back to your new hide out: the disgusting basement. You needed to distract yourself for another four to six hours until your evil crew of unfortunate ones being haunted by you woke. 

A fist hit the palm of your hand and determination spread in your mind.  _ If I’m gonna be here to haunt these people for a while, I need a halfway decent room for myself! I may be dead, but my proper living etiquette isn’t! _

Your prideful mind lifted a hand as you said out: “Orginiza!” [Organize!] 

Nothing moved. 

_ Aw...come on! I have to actually organize this myself?  _ The ghost life made you a bit lazy at times. 

 

As the sun began peeking out of the horizon, you put the finishing touches to the basement. It looked much better, and suited you just fine. You dusted everything off so you could breathe, though you really didn’t need to, and some color began to splash back into the dull furniture that was available. There was a cream couch, a nice lamp with a wooden support and faded orange shade, two black coffee tables engraved with a flower pattern, and an old bookshelf with a surplus of ancient looking books and photo albums.  _ It may not be a perfect room, but at least I got something.  _ You told yourself. 

_ Now that it’s almost time for wake...Let’s be a nuisance!  _ You chipperly bounced into the area above you; the hallway.  _ What to do, what to do…?  _

You glided over to the portrait on the wall and observed it. Your mind came to a consensus that first and foremost, these paintings must come down. One by one you used your phantom telekinesis to lower the art and turn them backwards, angling them against the floor and the wall. 

Suddenly though, you were jerked with another plan. The devil on your shoulder planted a seed of a devilish plan in your head, and the angel sowed it rather than digging it out.  _ Some of the pictures are framed… _ You grinned widely.  _ Where can I find a sharpie…?  _

You floated down the hall with increasing acceleration on a quest to discover the magic sharpie you would use to vandalize the hideous pictures with comical mustaches and other childish images. Sure, it’s very elementary of you, but it’s kinda fun and a harmless, cute way to fluster the big cheese of the manor. Sticking your nose into every door way you passed, you puzzled more and more:  _ Do they even have a sharpie…? Of course they do! Everyone has to have at least one just lying around, right? Even when you don’t think you have one, one always shows up!  _

Your head popped into a room you hadn’t seen before. It was another organized mess with scattered robotic parts and engineering trinkets packed in a plethora of different sized crates. In the center of the room there was a large round, grey table with blueprints of future projects spread out. The rectangular tables near the far wall had labeled beakers of fluids, mechanical screws, insane torturous looking tools, and a pencil holder. 

_ Bingo! That’ll have a sharpie!  _

Quickly, you hopped into the lab and strolled down, snatching a sharpie and smiling to yourself as you imagined doodling a nice little mustache on the all evil Black Hat faces. Chuckling like a mischievous toddler you turned around and almost didn’t notice the stuttering mess in front of you. In a jolt you halted and awkwardly stared as the poor nervous wreck gawked.

“Uh...Buenos dias, doctor.” [Uh...Good morning, doctor.] You politely address him. He squealed and covered his face, cowering as though I still had a burning army of minute toast men. 

“Solo necesitaba el sharpie.” [I just needed the sharpie.] You hold your arms surrendered in an attempt to calm the scared man. “No voy a lastimarte.” [I am not going to hurt you.] 

You weren’t sure if he understood you at first but the slow and shaking ease of his tension showed that he comprehended enough. “O-oh...g-good morning to you as well...p-poltergeist…?” He hesitantly gulped and paced a few steps away from me. “Y-you can h-have the sharpie I guess...but p-please don’t do anything too rash. If you anger B-Black Hat again he may do something rash.” His eyes darted to the side as he mumbled: “But I guess he can’t exactly kill you…”

You loosen your posture. The way the scientist implored made your thought of vandalization waver a bit.  _ Poor dude...he really isn’t that bad is he? How does he put up with a monster like Black Hat? How much is he abused to stay here?   _

You cleared your throat, and in an attempt to have better communication and seem less cryptic, as much as you didn’t want to, you gave a shot at speaking english. “I am s...sorry...about scaring you that night, doctor. M...my name is y/n. And it is m...my j-job to…” You begin blanking on english phrases and in a hurry to get your voice across you say what sounds right to your ears. “Fuck Black Hat.” You nod.

A wave of “ _ what” _ slammed to Flug’s face. “Fuck Black Hat?!” He said before laughing a bit. 

You shuffled awkwardly in place. “I-is...that no correct…?” You stabbed for it again, fumbling. Again. 

“I-I’m sorry, I laughed, but I think you mean frighten. Or torture. And I understand that because that is typically what poltergeist do. Maybe y-you should stick to spanish for a little while though.” He casually suggested. “Nice to meet you, y/n. You can call me Dr. Flug Slys, or just Flug if you like.” 

Maybe what you said was not exactly what you meant, but at least it was clear Flug had loosened up a good bit and he wasn’t as fearful. 

“Tienes razón.” [You’re right.] You ruffle your light and floaty hair on your ghost head. 

You both stood there and just stared at one another for a few moments. It was weird and you were tempted to just vanish on the spot, but suddenly a lightbulb popped in the scientist’s head and he sprung into new action. 

“I almost totally forgot!” He ran to the table and picked up a device resembling a walkie talkie. He flipped a switch and it buzzed on. With certain agile movements, he turned one of the nobs on the side and began to pace back towards you. “It’s not much, and I could have worked on it more, I will if you are m-more interested in updates and all, but I made this last night after Black Hat stormed off. It’s a communicator of sorts. I rewired some of the inside controls and added some more advanced EVP like hardware and small discs. Basically it’s a ghost translator!” He held it up to you like a proud child, and you couldn’t see it, but knew he was beaming with red cheeks. 

“Y-you don’t have to take it, if you don’t want, but I’ve wanted to test out a lot of my paranormal d-devices I’ve stored away for a long t-time. You know...th-this place wasn’t exactly haunted by another p-paranormal entity before so I-I’ve never been able to test these things out.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know it’s k-kinda...nerdy...but I’ve always been fascinated by ghost along with other lifeforms like aliens and the way they function. I don’t want to experiment on you or anything, b-but what do you say? Will y-you at least take a look at some of them and m-maybe try them out…?” 

You couldn’t help but giggle a bit at the proposition.  _ Aw, he’s kinda adorable. Not to mention very enthusiastic about his work.  _ Though Flug seemed fine and all right now, you still had to make sure not to trust anyone here too much. After all, they are notorious criminal under Black Hat’s command. You have the right to be a little skeptical; the doctor may be doing this to get on your good side for now so he could use whatever he discovers about you to expel you once and for all... 

But, hey...this is a communication device made specially for you!

“Gracias!” [Thank you!] You beam gingerly lifting it from Flug’s hands and slowly bringing the invention to yours. It fit nicely in the palm of your hands. It was miniature, but if it works as Flug says, you knew it was going to be awesome!

Flug, ecstatic by your positive response proceeded to deliver you a physical instruction manual as well as an oral presentation. “To turn it on, press the red power button on the top right corner. Above that on the side, you see two knobs. The first knob, when tightened to the right will deliver translation of your spanish speech to an accurate english version of what you are saying. It will be typed out on the screen, and you can read it. To activate this, press down the enter button below the screen while you speak. You need to be sure to loosen it to the left though after you are done speaking, that way power is conserved and you don’t fry the translator. The second knob must be treated the same as the first as far as loosening and tightening left to right, but that is used incase you want the walkie talkie to speak the words for you.  It will be announced through the speakers on the left and right sides after it translates what you said.” He took a breather and pointed to the device. “Give it a try!”

Directing your attention to the communicator, you did as Flug told you. It was already on, so you tightened the first knob, twisting it to the right. Your translucent finger pressed down the enter button below the screen, and the screen turned white in response and a flashing cursor appeared waiting for your words. 

“Ah…” You think of what to say. “El jefe aquí es un capullo.” 

A small loading hourglass appeared and a second later it translated into text: The boss here is a dick. 

“iFunciona!” You exclaim happily in surprise. 

Flug clapped, cheering his invention. “Great! Now check the second knob. To make the walkie talkie repeat a previous phrase, just hit the left arrow key after you tighten the second knob. The statement will not erase, until you hit the right arrow key.”  

Following the instructions, you tighten the second knob and hit the left arrow key. In a computer robotic voice it reiterated my phrase through the speakers: “The boss here is a dick.” 

“Yes!” Flug punched the air, but lowered his arm. “You may want to watch the way you talk about our boss…That can get you in trouble.” 

“¿ _ Nuestro  _ jefe? Él no es  _ mi _ jefe, Flug.” You retort.

The communicator picked up: “ _ Our  _ boss? He is not  _ my _ boss, Flug.”

“Well,  _ my _ boss.” Flug corrected. “Either way, watch yourself; Black Hat can hear more than what people are comfortable with. Just don’t say something that will make him want to go after you anymore. He already wants to destroy what’s left of you.” His head fell grimly. “...and he still can…” 

You furrow your brow, and let the communicator speak for you. “What do you mean he can still destroy me?” The atmosphere filled with a familiar tense aura of bad news.

Flug looked you in the eyes, and his seriousness would have made your blood freeze. “Your soul is not in your body, but if the ray I made that brought you here worked like it was supposed to, you can still feel pain. Sure, you can dodge pain sometimes, but if you are caught off guard, it could result in the worse. This is because you are still connected to your body, but because you are so far separated, you cannot return to it.” He sighed and looked off to the side, crossing his arms in a discomforting way. 

“What I’m trying to tell you is there is a way to reconnect you right now, but if you plunge into too much danger, and Black Hat happens to harm you, your body can die, and there will be no second chance for you after that. And there no determining whether your soul will remain here as a ghost permanently, or if you will disappear and cease to exist. I am only a scientist. I cannot predict what will happen if you truly do die. Only deadmen know that answer.” 

Part of you sank to the ground.  _ That is why I still felt when I fell on the ground in the basement and when trying to escape...it’s because I really did bust my actual, physical ass. I’m linked to my body still…!  _

“Thanks for the warning.” The communicator reflected your previous spanish statement. “Mind if I go now?” 

Flug nodded. “Of course. Besides, I need to work.” He waved you off as you flew through the door.

Levitating in place and curling into a ball outside the room, you dreaded for a moment.  _ I’ve been acting so reckless and unlike my normally quiet, easygoing self...I felt invincible with these new powers, but if I happen to die here that’s it. _

You clench your fist, shuning the dark thought.  _ But I won’t…! Plus, now there’s new hope! I can still get supper with my parents and Quintonil, I can still go back to Barcelona and see my best friend...I can still go home!  _

You straightened out, gripping the communicator, and to your sudden realization, something else. You looked down at the palm of your hand and loosed the squeeze. It was the sharpie you had gotten before the run in with Flug.   
_That’s right...I was going to have a little fun wasn’t I?_ You cunningly smile down the long stretch of halls, eyeing the atrocious pictures. 

_ I don’t have time for moping around; I have a mission to complete here!     _


	5. Artes y Manualidades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Happy Halloween everyone! I just wanted you all to know I made a Flug x Reader Halloween spin-off. Go ahead and check it out if you want~!  
> Haunting Admiration: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571064

“Dr. Skyles, please! Just hear me out!” A nurse implored a dark figure in a lab coat.

The blurred figure moved a hand up to their face with a cigarette, and lit it. Taking a long inhale, tired from the work of the day, Doctor Skyles sighed the smoke and flooded the clean air of the office with the scent of strong addiction. 

“Anne. I’m listening.” Their dark pupils flashed up at the woman with a dangerous glare and striking glow. “Lower your volume.” 

Catching her breath she nodded and spoke with a more controlled pitch. “Skyles...they are in bad condition. Clearly, their soul is still out there and it is connected to their body. If they stay like this for much longer, they will have no possible chance of returning.” 

“So what do you want me to do?” The doctor said dragging the cigarette. “You want me to tell their parents that they are utterly doomed. We and the search parties are already doing what we can to find their soul. If the parents find out that their child’s soul isn’t even here, they will probably have a heart attack and freak out. That’s the last thing I’m going to put up with today.” Menacingly, they held the cigarette and stepped out of the dark corner; the doctor’s appearance male, but his androgynous features scattered about became crystal clear with more steps.

In a deep growl, the doctor clenched his jaw, displaying how much tolerance he had left. “If I were you, nurse, I’d watch how you phrase your next sentence.” 

The fragile woman flinched back and stepped away from her too close for comfort boss. “Y-yes doctor…” She coughed a bit to clear her throat and speak up. “B-but we only have one month to successfully retrieve the body, before they cannot be reconnected. Shouldn’t the parents be informed…?” 

With a sudden snap of emotions, Skyles gritted his teeth and snatched up the nurse’s wrist, grasping it to the point she howled out in stabbing pain in the muscles. 

“My orders are no! We will inform them only once we are certain our patient will be announced dead or alive. Anything in between is unacceptable!” He sternly said in a low pitch, moving closer to Anne’s face. “Do you think I am oblivious to the factors of this situation?” 

Dr. Skyles threw down her wrist and she retreated backwards, stumbling, but not entirely falling. Her face displayed shock and terror at the seemingly abusive doctor. Rubbing her wrist she whimpered again and nodded, her faith diving into submission. 

“Yes sir…” She addressed the ground. Small beads of tears formed at the rim of her eyes as she longed to have a position where she could be more truthful to the people who looked up to their cooperation: Heroibus Hospitalization and Laboratory Center.

The HHLC was seen as one of the world’s finest research and medical aid centers. Internationally recognized for the number of Heroes who provided them charity and retribution on those sick and wounded by notorious villains. But on the inside...it wasn’t as miraculous as Anne long dreamed it would be as a child. 

Dr. Skyles wasn’t the problem here; the system was. Even though they were seen as a glorified haven of righteous ways and upholders of basic life principles, darker matters were covered by that innocent vail of appealing, mixed truths and lies, much like every praised institution. You never see the fine details until you get close enough for you eyes to identify them.

Anne raised her gaze as she heard Dr. Skyles hum. Without warning, he rose her jaw and his face was transfigured to a pleasant, tired smile. Though it may seem odd, this didn’t phase the nurse; she was well aware of Skyles’ bipolar mood swings. They’ve been happening since the death of his older sister. They were both haunted by the spikes of familiarly extreme behavior in ways; that’s why she never blamed him for lashing out at certain times. Even times like these. 

“Don’t look down, Anne. I’m sorry about that, I really am...I just...need some time to think for myself...and not as an uptight doctor.” He said trying to rebalance his mind.

He tranced the cheeks of her face, and exhaled releasing another load of smoke. “Come on, your shift is over. You should get home.” Skyles finished his cigarette and stretched out his muscles. “I still have to finish up talking to the patient’s family members. They have some questions. You know, typical procedure.” 

Anne nodded her head, and slowly paced further away. She wanted to move faster, but her lethargy of the day was catching up to her and dragging like a chained burden behind her preventing any quick movements.

_ At least I tried to vocalize the truth for once... _ Anne told herself.  _ If the company won’t let me release this information, it’s not my fault.  _ She convinced her mind she was not guilty. 

_ Poor child...they only have thirty days to be saved. I hope we find them before any other demon can. _

 

You finished vandalizing the hallways with your magical sharpie and pridefully beamed at your work.  _ Oh yeah...this is DEFINITELY gonna piss him off.  _

You glide down the hall, with the sharpie and new walkie talkie in hand. The only inconvenience of the invention was the fact it was solid, and therefore you had to use doors when traveling with it, but surely you could find a way to solve that problem.  __

Not even a minute later a shrill aggravated shout rang through the household. You maliciously grin.  _ Looks like the big boss is awake.  _

Having successfully accomplished your mission, you quietly returned the sharpie to Flug’s lab, being aware not to make a peep just incase Black Hat could somehow hear you. You may have a way to get the hell out of there when he comes chasing after you but at the same time, you still were the  _ tiniest _ bit scared of the legendary criminal. 

Flug sat in a chair tucked in snugly by the side of the main table. A project of little mechanical pieces were spread across the table and he was moving his hands faster than what your mind could react to hearing a loud sound in the morning.  _ Maybe he had coffee or something. If so, that was some really effective caffeine.  _

Without looking up he noticed you, much to your surprise; you hadn’t wanted to disturb him. 

“I thought I said  _ don’t _ do anything like that.” His tone borderline to that of a parental guide.

You pressed the enter button on your walkie talkie, having pre-prepared your response in the case Flug said those words. “Sorry, it is my job to be a nuisance.” The device spoke with your metallic retort 

“Remember what I said though…!” He pressed with a warning.

“Lo se, lo se…” [I know, I know…] You say brushing off the caution. It’s not that you didn’t take it completely serious, but you really wanted to be sure that Black Hat payed for what he did. It’s not like you could ever  _ kill _ anyone, so simple annoyances would just have to suffice.

“Alright…” Flug shook his head side to side in an almost unbelieving way. “Just don’t go overboard.” 

You floated out of there and back to the maze of halls. When Flug was more focused on a project, he was much more calm. Probably because he wasn’t concerned solely on the pressing issue.

_ It’s still only the morning...what to do, what to do…. _ You levitated in circles and tapped your communicator to help you think.  _ I could break a window…? No, no. I could throw the keys to this manor under a couch or something…! Hm...to simple. But still. _

With haste, you found yourself in the living room where the cute little bear was in a maid outfit reassembling the portraits from the wall, and cleaning off the beautiful sharpie art. Quietly you snatched the keys you remembered seeing earlier and tossed them under the couch before gliding back out. Sure, you had  _ no clue _ what those keys unlocked, but at least you were doing your job of annoyances. 

But you need something else besides a minor little thing. Something bigger...kinda like screwing with the pictures, but not that again... _ I need something that the whole manor will notice every step they take..that would infuriate Black Hat!  _

Looking outside a window of your prison, you saw the lovely summer blooms in everyone else’s yards but not here. All of the nice little suburban houses had masses of colorful plants ornamenting their yards. 

_ My mom loves flowers like these. We had red Nile Lilies in our front yard every year this season.  _ You found yourself thinking about home. Imagining the front yard, the inside of the house, the books on the shelves of your room...Mexico City, the shopping areas, your friends, and how much you just wanted a nice cocktail…

You slump over. Homesickness was sinking in. 

You jump up in the air. 

_ Wait! I don’t have time for sulking! If I want to make this place feel like home...I’m gonna make this place feel like home so much that Black Hat will want to piss himself!  _

The idea popped in your head and you couldn’t help but give off a Vincent Price laugh as though you could still try out for the Thriller video. 

You lifted your walkie talkie to your face and mumbled some words in spanish to see what they turned out in english: “Espero que te guste rosa~!”

The translator loaded for a second before it popped up with words on the screen for you to re-say out loud: “I hope you like pink~!” 

 

Dr. Skyles popped in a small piece of spearmint gum to diminish the scent of his smoky breath as he stepped inside the room of the expectant audience of your family. In the center of the room surrounded my the familiar puffy faces laid the shell of you that was clearly lifeless, but still, as shown on the heart monitor, was beating with life.  

“Good evening, l/n family. I’m sorry for the length which you waited, but I am here now.” 

You mother could not look up at the doctor, rather her eyes stayed on your body as she spoke. “Will my child be okay?” Her voice wavered.

Dr. Skyles shifted uncomfortably with what he had to deliver, even though he knew that the dreaded question would rise eventually in the beginning or the middle. “At the moment it is hard to tell, miss, but I guarantee everyone here is doing what they can for them. On a positive note, all of their vital organs are functioning and as long as they stay this way, they’ll be fine and wake soon.” 

“Then why...?!” Your father snapped standing up. “If everything is so  _ functional _ what’s wrong?” 

Dr. Skyles maintained a calm facade. “They are in a form of comatose due to psychological issues caused by the hit of the unidentified ray Black Hat used on them. Once we can identify the purpose of the ray, we can effectively wake y/n. But if done now we could cause a significant rift or sway in their body’s stable behavior, and in this state, this could result in the brain sending incorrect waves and signal commands resulting in worse issues.” His eye twitched, but he hid it under the clipboard in his hands. “It is only in our best interest that we do nothing to force y/n out of her coma until we are one hundred percent sure that they will not suffer anymore once they are conscious.” 

Grimmly, the family began to nod and contemplate Dr. Skyles’ lying words. Though some of it was true, he dared not say the whole truth, had they panicked with the truth.

_ Just as he had. _

Dr. Skyles jerked his head up in desperation not to think about such a thing in front of other civilians. As he did so, Skyles heard his name.

“Yes?” He asked the young boy with refocused attention.

“Is there a hero on this case? Someone who is going to get vengeance for this sinful, unmerciless attack?” 

Dr. Skyles froze at the question, still holding a fake exterior of complete coolness. He had surprisingly not been prepared to answer something such as that during the interrogation. “I have not been informed of anyone on the case, no...However, sir, keep in mind that the hero would be up against Black Hat. For the well being and continued life of our heros we no longer--”

“I know someone.” His face eerily darkened, as his pupils shined like razor eyes, slicing through Dr. Skyles’ phrase. “We happen to be... _ very close... _ do you understand?” 

Dr. Skyles expression dropped the mask he hid behind and gaped at the gentleman. In the HHLC, saying that one was  _ very close _ to a hero normally meant they  _ are  _ the hero. He coughed to pick himself back up. “May I ask what your relation to this patient is?” 

“Of course...I am their best friend. I would do anything for them.  _ Anything.” _ His normally friendly voice that you were familiar with was dripping with animosity as he acutely uttered every syllable of his sentences. 

Dr. Skyles jotted down everything on his clipboard. “Yes, I understand. What is the name of the hero you request?”   

“Solferno.” 

Dr. Skyles clicked his pen. “Yes sir, I shall file that request.”  

 

_ There~! _

You shook side to side in glee as you gathered up the surplus of glittery objects. 

The basement, your room, was cluttered with cutesy little things that you were  _ positive  _ Black Hat would not appreciate at all. Combining some arts, crafts, and tapestry knowledge from your well spent kindergarten year in the good old days and your new poltergeist abilities that spoiled you so, you made hundreds of pink, sparkling flowers within twenty minutes. 

And now, it was time to share the little beauties in all of their fluorescent glory by throwing them all over the manor in a cute bombardment~!

As you exit the basement, you see that 5.0.5. had not completely finished cleaning your earlier vandalization. You giggle, as you pass by the one with Black Hat standing magnificently in a destroyed world, that you transformed into him holding a teddy bear surrounded by little children climbing up his legs. Oh, and of course the mustache. That was the main perfected piece on each frame. 

The flowers followed behind you and occasionally dropped one, making a trail as you flew through the house. The glitter is  _ definitely  _ going to stick to the carpet. 

You begin to hum the melody of that song in english you had heard before: Fireflies. The happy tune carried with you in every room. 

As you approached Demencia, she heard the song and began singing it as well. With wide dilated saucer eyes she admired your ghostly sparkling artistic project. She wasn’t afraid this time of course. Flaming toast was much more intimidating than this. 

Her jubilant spirit made you laugh, and you dropped ten or so flowers over her almost as a miniature apology for frightening her the other night. She danced in the rain of pink joy and gathered up the childish craft. 

Giggling like a kid, you continued to sprinkle your work, leaving Demencia. Until you approach the giant double doors of  _ his  _ office. 

You stopped.

_ I still have quite a few flowers left despite me pretty much visiting each main room... _ With great thoughts boiling in the walls of your mind, you grinned and lowly laughed in a borderline psychotic manner. 

You turned the second knob of the communicator you carried with you and pressed the enter button. “I hope you like pink.” It spoke in it’s robotically generated voice. You did a mini flip in the air.  _ This is almost too much fun!  _

You placed a hand on the doors. “Abierto.” [Open.] They obeyed and you beamed with glee from your awesome powers.   
The office was decorated with torturous looking weapons and covered with lavish furniture, just like his room. In the back there was a desk with neatly placed work, shipping orders, scripts, and contracts with other villains. 

_ Whelp! We can’t spread his bad influence!  _

“Brisa.” [Breeze.] 

A gust of wind was formed from my hand, and sent the papers on the desk flying in all directions. Some stayed there on the desk in a messed up order, some fell to the floor far from the desk, and some would have gone out the window had it not been closed. 

And without further ado, you majestically raised both of your hands and let all of the flowers float in the air and storm glitter everywhere. You laughed so much just imagining the look on Black Hat’s face when he sees what you have done. 

_ He’s gonna be so upset!  _ You continued your booming laughter, letting it ring from all the corners of the room.

But...something overpowered that joy.

A deep guttural growl of a savage, foaming at the mouth with rage. 

The flowers drop to the ground along with your hands and stomach. The room’s atmosphere became dense with tension and if you had lungs, you would have a hard time breathing. The plummeting temperature matched your icey spirit, and made it crack. 

You turn around, but all you see is a pitch black appendage coming for you in blur of fused movement. 

_ Well, shit. _


	6. Destrozado

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning: this is a bit dark (not too too dark, but it has some sadistic features.)

_ Run!  _

As the tentacle lunged for you, you soared upwards and casted your hand out to Black Hat’s direction, forgetting how to process the words to shout a command at the paper flowers. Without any words though, they animated themselves to life and forced themselves into Black Hat’s face, giving you some time. 

Dashing for the door, with intentions of passing through, your face flattened into a pancake as the solid slammed you with full force. Howling in pain you plummeted to the ground. You could feel your nose. It felt broken and bloody, but there was no red liquid anywhere on your hands. But you could  _ feel  _ it.  

Black Hat tore the pink defenders to shreds and sadistically laughed at your screaming agony. “You aren’t the only one who can control what you go through, my dear.” Biting your bottom lip to avoid crying, you made small whining sounds of a wounded animal as he stepped closer and closer. 

_ I should have listened to Flug…! This is it! I’m gonna die here...die for good this time! _

As the bitter tears rolled down your flushed cheeks, a slithering tentacle wrapped around your waist and hoisted your rag doll weak body off the ground. “Let’s see how much you enjoy mocking me after a couple of broken ribs, hm?” He breathed in my face with trailing drool easing down from his lips.

“N-no hagas...esto....Black Hat…” [D-don’t do...this...Black Hat...] You beg vainly grasping his wrist as he furrows his brows and grimaces in annoyance with your spanish plea. 

You swallow and speak again, but this time in english. “P-please...do not k-kill me…!” Hot water poured from your eyes and misted the air, stinging you more. Never before had you imagined you could cry so much for your life you once thought insignificant. But now as you stared at death you were aware just how much you wanted the feeling of life. 

Something almost appeared to waver in his sharp demon posture, but it manifested itself into more sick pleased thunder. “Kill you…? I’m going to do worse than that!” 

Rising panic surfaced, almost entirely numbing the blow to your nose. You didn’t want to find out what  _ worse than killing you _ was to him. 

Your old friend adrenaline greeted you, and you thrashed around in Black Hat’s grip. “DÉJAME IR! BASTARDO MALVADO!” [LET GO OF ME! EVIL BASTARD!] Your will to power boiled into seeping anger and that’s when it happened for the first time...

Something inside of you changed. Something snapped. What was this feeling...the broken feeling of everything keeping you as yourself…?

Was it sanity…? 

Sense? 

Mercy? 

You weren’t sure. Whatever it was, it left you. Packed up and didn’t leave behind any mementos of its visit. 

The last thing your innocent eyes saw were the twisted emotions crossing over Black Hat. He released you, and jumped back as though you were a stove or had thrown holy water on this impure man. You weren’t even sure why, but he looked…

Scared.

Just for a moment. Maybe he was?

“What are you?!” He snarled in shock of your sudden transformation. 

You couldn’t see what he saw, so you weren’t too sure yourself. Whatever you just did, it was effective. 

It gave you  _ pride _ .

Black Hat was at  _ your _ mercy now.

In a sickly, out of character behavior, you contorted into something demonic and terrifying to the devil of all notorious beings. 

Mockingly, you smile with darkness hanging in your eyes. Your voice lowered several octaves. Wanting him to understand, your tongue effortlessly spoke beautiful, fluent english. “I’m the redemption of your victims, bitch.” 

Your hand of condemnation shot up from your side and once again, no command needed, thorny vines sprouted from your back, erupting and burning you like lava, but whatever anesthetic this force came with not only numbed your mental pain, but apparently physical as well. 

Black Hat, unprepared, just stood there dismayed and brought out his demonic appendages to shield him. Still though, the vines curled around him and melted the fabric of his nice overcoat. 

You could feel the sweet resistance vibrating from all over and his frivolous struggling. His voice blacked out in your head, so all you saw was his mouth wide open with no sound coming out. 

Black Hat looked  _ feeble. _

It made you feel... _ powerful _ . 

_ Invincible even.  _

_ And now...he can finally understand the suffering he introduced to me…!  _

Your hands rocket above your hands and your irises shined with monstrous intent. “Goodbye, Black Ha--” __

Surprising to your ears you heard something you would have never imagined; a sound that rang and stuck in your ears; a sound sure to haunt you forever. Black Hat interrupted his riddance with a shrill scream like that of a wounded wolf. There was nothing that echoed more loud and more traumatically than the tortured eldritch being wrapped and strangled by the vines constricting him and piercing his rough flesh. 

_ Your vines _ . 

_ Your torture. _

_ His blood all over you.  _

_ Black Hat is suffering by your hand.  _

_ I-I’m killing him…! _

Snapping to your senses, and in disgust by such immoral actions, you threw his bloody body across the room and your vicious aura faded back inside of you as you collapsed to the ground. Immediately your mind replayed the unbelievably, boldly wicked measure. Black Hat’s blood stained your gaunt ominous malignantly figure due to your newly born vile emotion of foul contentment. 

Black Hat was not unconscious. He was just lying perfectly still on the ground ten feet away from you, bleeding on the carpet and gushing out from arterial and venous wounds. His one eye bulged with disturbance and twitched with the thought of scarring and becoming wounded from someone like you.  _ The worthless life he killed but made stronger.  _

_ What have I become?!  _

Shaking, you picked yourself up and staggered as you stood. 

“B-Black...Hat…?” You say to the mangled body expecting a response. You didn’t want to have to carry this burden... _ Even if he is Black Hat he is still a form of life! How could I do this? How did I manage to commit something that someone as dark as he could have done?! _

Suddenly the doors were banging. “Black Hat! BLACK HAT! WHAT’S GOING ON?!” The doctor’s voice penetrated the barrier. You hear him shake the knob in an attempt to open the entrance to the room. “It’s locked…” He said to the side. “Where’s the damn key?! Isn’t it on the living room table?” 

_ The key…!  _ You threw it under the couch earlier to be a nuisance.  _ They’ll never find it!  _

Frantically, you floated towards the walls and made sure you could pass through. As soon as you knew that you had access you rammed through, but got snagged. 

Your communicator you clutched in your hands was solid and would not pass through. Without a second thought, you dropped it and continued to bullet down the hall to find the key and unlock the door. 

_ Maybe they can help him…! If he’s okay then I can’t be blamed, right? I was only defending myself….!  _

His scream echoed in your beating ear drums and drove you forward. 

You wanted to annoy him. Not torture him. 

Especially not commit a crime as low as murder. 

Even if he deserved to die, you couldn’t let yourself be the one to do that. It just wasn’t you. You can’t hurt anyone like that way.  _ Anyone _ . 

You nearly completely missed the couch from the speed you sailed, but when your eyesight cleared itself to a focus, you shuffled back under and snatched the key from under the couch in one swoop. 

You moved faster than you ever had before in your life. 

So fast you slammed into Flug pinning him on the ground under your ghostly body. He stammered. “Y-Y-Y/n! Wh-wha…!”

You had not time to lose. You stood up, helped him up, and shoved the key in his hands. “¡Abre la puerta ahora!” [Open the door now!] You urgently commanded. “Tienes que ayudarlo! Por favor! Fue un accidente! Perdí el control, lo juro!” [You have to help him! Please! It was an accident! I lost control, I swear!] Rambling on and on tears burn the skin of your cheeks. 

Flug came close to tripping as you pushed him towards the door. Demencia and 5.0.5. stared at your spastic slurring they couldn’t understand. Fumbling for the keyhole at first, Flug got it in on the second stab, and twisted to unlock your sin to everyone’s vision.

“Black Hat!” Demencia shrieked.

“B-boss!” Flug pushed his way inside.

The cyan fluff ball made highly alarmed noises and looked away immediately.

As the action continued, you could only stare as you soak in guilt. 

Flug scrambled to the scene and went to first aid mode before all else. “S-sir! Are you conscious!?” He tried to sound calm but that was no good.

In an effort to make himself seem unphased, Black Hat attempted to sit up. “Of course I am, you i-” A stinging pump in his body forced him to the feet of gravity again, cutting off his insult. The way he clenched his jaw and hissed made it look even worse. 

He is  _ not  _ doing well at all.

You really laid it thick on him.

“How am I going to move his body…?” Flug pondered his eyes darting everywhere like a solution was written on the walls. “Y/n, can you tell me what happened?” He turned to me with those wide all too trusting eyes. 

_ If he knows, that means I’ve lost his trust and new kind-of friendship…!  _ The fact dawned on you. 

Black Hat coughed. “Th-they won’t know...” He growled an octave deep all while glaring at your motionless befuddled body. “They...didn’t do it.” 

_ What is he saying…?! Of course I did it! Is he starting to hallucinate?  _

“Y/n can you help me move his body?” 

_ He’s lying! I did do this...I’m the culprit! Why is he letting me go? _

“Y/N!” 

Flug’s firm snap brought you back to attention on the present case. You don’t think you heard him the first time, but you somehow knew what he needed.

Gulping and choking back confused thoughts, you stuck out your hand as a preparatory action _.  _ Recalling proper medical procedures, the body had to be stabilized so that there was little movement as possible. “Quedarse quieto.” The command froze Black Hat so that he would not try to move on his own again.

“Levantarte.” [Get up.] You tell Black Hat’s stiff figure. Obeying, the villain’s body suspended in the air and you had control over him and every direction he could face. 

He would not look at you. He corrugated his brows and you couldn’t tell if he was suppressing his seething vexation or if he was just forced to because of your first command. 

“Come on, let’s bring him to the lab.” Flug turned around to conduct the others, being the responsible one. “5.0.5., Demencia, clean up his office. Yes, both of you Demencia!” He reiterated to the pouting girl. 

“You can’t boss me! I’m not the maid here!” She retorted in a childish way, sticking out her tongue.

“Think about how much Black Hat will  _ appreciate _ it.” He threw his hands slightly in the are emphasizing “appreciate.”

That got her moving. 

As the doctor ran the way, leading you to his lab and medical area, you held Black Hat’s body in the air, glancing over at his shattered self and tattered clothing. 

“Lo...lo siento…” [I...I’m sorry…] You mindlessly whispered at him. 

No reaction, of course. You had him at still.

Upon arrival, Black Hat was moved to a hospital bed and rolled to the back. Flug rushed to set up all of the necessary equipment, and you helped in whatever way you could, which wasn’t enough to satisfy. 

“Que más puedo hacer?” [What else can I do?] You hurriedly want to aid in any other way you can as compensation of the deed.

“Now we have to wait for him to be strong enough to answer questions.” Flug’s bag was wrinkled and precipitation developed at the top corners. He was nervous because he wasn’t sure what happened to the feared boss. He didn’t know it was you, Black Hat made sure of that for some reason. But now he was probably worrying  _ what  _ did this and  _ where  _ this  _ what _ is.

“H-hey, y/n...where’s your communicator?” He shifted the subject abruptly needing something to jerk his gaze away from the damaged boss.

“Oh!” You remembered in the spur of the moment, you had simply dropped it so you could quickly get by. “S-se me cayó…” [I-I dropped it…] 

“Did it break?” He interrogated.

“No sé…” [I don’t know…]

“How about you go get it and come back. I’ll watch Black Hat and ask him about the situation when he wakes up.” Flug informed you.

You gulp, unsure on how everything was going to play out. “Okey….” 

Away you drift in a solemness. 

_ Poor Black Hat...it really was an accident. I wanted him to suffer and pay for everything and I may have initially wished this on him, but this isn’t what I wanted...I don’t want to become some monster. I don’t want to lose control like that again…  _

Your past self would probably not believe those were your thoughts, but as it is now, you could feel yourself somehow splitting into two. This poltergeist body came with great advantages, but for everything available there has to be a price; compensation for the good given. And because there were so many goods, was there a bigger price that had to be paid? If so what was it? Why did things have to turn out this way?

The questions were too specific for you to answer, even if they seemed broad with bewilderment. As you ask the questions silently, you can just imagine one of _ those _ people who are always unwilling to help, hold up a sign saying “good luck” in a way that made you believe you would never really learn the answers.

 

Black Hat’s eyes flutter open. He was blinded by the bright light ahead and squinted like an infant being introduced to the new visual factor. 

A quiet, timid man’s voice broke the silence. “B-Black Hat, s-s-sir…? Are you o-oka-” 

“Like I said before, of course I am, you idiot!” He sliced through the sentence of the annoying, stuttering doctor.

“Th-that’s excellent, sir! B-but can you tell me-”

“No.” Black Hat turned his head to the opposite side of where Flug was. “That is for me to know. If it concerned you, I would let you know. The threat is gone, so there is no point in stressing.”

This perplexed and aroused more curiosity from the theorizing scientist, but he knew it was best to not continue. “Yes sir.”

Flug cleared his airway and prepared to explain to his boss what he must do, as professional medical staff would do of course. “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to stay here for the rest of the day, or until you are confident you can move without needing support. You are allowed to stand up and walk for three minutes every hour, but try to limit this opportunity that way you heal even faster. Since you are not human you will definitely heal much more quickly-” 

“Yes, I am aware of what to do when I am not feeling well.  _ You don’t have to tell me what to do _ .” He impatiently grumbled, irked by his condition.

Flug backed away, scared of the eldritch leader. “A-alright sir, if you say so...I’m gonna leave you here, but if you need something specifically you can just ring me down by pressing-”

“ _ I know, Flug!”  _ He barked, causing the poor man to jump and sprint off, leaving his lab as a sick bay. Black Hat had no tolerance for people at the moment and frankly just wanted to be left alone. 

He had been humiliated enough for one day.

_ A powerful being such as myself being disgraced and undermined by a petty fool who had the nerve to threaten me with something I am immune to…! Threaten me with death; waving it in my face, but not handing it over. How weak. Given such an opportunity that fallen heroes before them died for and they were not strong enough to hurt me to that degree. And why for…? For innocence on their name! Innocence that no one has! No one is ever born innocent into a world of sinners... _

Mentally he spat on the entire race of humans and all those living.

Folding his arms, he had flashbacks; flashbacks to his vulnerability.  _ They dominated me, and didn’t even carry through with their mission as a poltergeist. Just...pathetic… _

Had he not been immune to  _ mortal emotions _ , maybe he would shiver at the thought of the dangerous ghost. For once, Black Hat admitted that another person under his roof was equal in his force. But absolutely  _ not  _ in capabilities or wit. He had much more under his sleeve than a typical illusionist. Only unlike those fakers, the supply under his sleeve wasn’t illusions. 

_ Damn dead people...can’t they die quietly and leave me the fuck alone?  _

There was a pat on the door. He knew immediately who it was. 

_ I guess not.  _

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't see THAT coming...  
> Don't worry, the next chapter will be much lighter than this.


	7. Lo Siento Mucho

You found the communicator lying face up on the ground, thankfully unbroken. You were sure Flug would be glad to hear that news. 

But now there was something that had to be done. You knew what. 

You swallow your rising resistance, turning on the device and entering in a phrase to have it announce in english. 

Turning the knob to translate the your words, you begin to hear someone approach you from behind. “Th-there you are, y/n. I left Black Hat in the lab. He is awake now, but I’m positive he doesn’t want to be disturbed. I advise a-against trying to talk to him right n-now.” The scientist stuttered like he had seen something terrifying.

You sigh. “Seré rapido. Lo prometo.” [I’ll be quick. I promise.] You were well aware that you should listen to the doctor, just as you realized before you thought Black Hat was going to rip you to shreds, but this had to be done and you didn’t want to stall it. Besides, in an extreme case you knew you could escape. 

“Okay, I guess…” Flug shuddered. “G-go ahead, but just...don’t rile him up anymore. Whatever got to him, really got him good. Well...bad, I suppose is more like it”

Internally, you cringed possessing knowledge of the truth.

“Okey…” You drift off to the lab.

You knocked on the door, and had heard the sound of faint disgust. Knowing Black Hat was conscious, you proceed. The hinges creaked as you opened the door and peeked your head inside. Normally, you would just fly through, but you had something solid in hand at the moment. 

“B-Black Hat…?” You whisper, voice cracking from remaining guilt.   
“ _What?_ ” Sneered the demon. 

Rather than flinching at the grotesque rasp, you delightfully raised in the air with your ghost of a relieved smile. But it faded as quickly as it came. He was afterall still an enemy.

Side stepping in and pacing a bit closer, but staying at a good distance, you clear your throat, but your eyes do not meet the head of the manor. You awkwardly were pleased, and didn’t think that was considered appropriate by your regular standards.     
Not wanting him to wait for you and glare at your bodiless spirit, piercing it with a laser gaze, you press enter on your communicator. With digital vocals, it delivered your message in english: “I am very sorry. I didn’t actually mean to hurt you. No less, almost kill you.” You shift in place a bit embarrassed. 

He rolled his eyes and snarled as his head turned away from you. “ _ Tsk.  _ You can’t even say the words with your own voice….” 

He was mad at you.

You choke on regurgitated hope. “L-lo siento mucho…! En realidad no quise lastimarte…” [I-I am very sorry…! I didn’t actually mean to hurt you…] You repeat your words. 

“Then get lost. I hate apologies.”

_ Ouch...still an asshole...Though I guess he has the right to be. To me at least. _

Not wanting to instigate more anger and discomfort, in a swift manner, you float to the door, eager to get the hell away. 

But you were caught with a long extended limb. 

Black Hat dragged you close to him and scowled with a force. 

“If you  _ ever _ try doing this again, you will face  _ unimaginable suffering. Understand?”  _

Fearfully, your head races up and down wanting to be released from his grip. 

“You are a poltergeist. Do you job correctly or  _ don’t do it at all and let yourself rot away forgotten _ .”  __

_ Wait...huh?  _ You weren’t expecting that next sentence.  _ Doesn’t he understand that my “job” as a poltergeist is to do this to him more…? I don’t want to kill him!  _

“ _ Of course I know that, you imbecile! _ ” He barked in your face. “And because killing me is impossible, just settle for the second option!”

_ Is he reading my mind?!  _

“What do you think? I’m guessing?  _ No shit I’m reading your mind! _ It’s easier to understand than your annoying spanish! I can translate thoughts.” 

You push off of him in vain. He squeezes tighter around your abdomen. 

“Let’s just face this, hm? I hate having to talk right now, but this must be addressed and I am a man of business.” Black Hat cooly opened a mini, one-sided conference. “I don’t think you are aware of your actual mission. You are still here so that you can get revenge on yourself. Your mission is to  _ kill me. _ But you can’t. Not only are you pathetically weak, but there is no force that is more powerful than  _ I. _ If you come to attack me, either you do your job and ‘kill me’ or just  _ die already. _ ” He used air quotations. 

“Never hold back from murder for something such as  _ innocence. _ That virtue is not available to anyone. Especially not a  _ malevolent spirit  _ such as yourself. You are too far gone for any  _ heaven,  _ if such a thing exists. So don’t beg for pity from any  _ mythological god _ when I  _ kill you myself _ .”  

He let you go and you fell ass first to the ground, busting yourself up more. 

“Now get out of here. Heed my words. That is the only truth I will ever give you. You no longer control yourself, this mission does.”

Scrambling to reach your levitating state again, you darted out of the door. Before other thoughts could process you had one that ran the loudest:  _ Fuck this shit I’m out! _

Your imaginary heart thumped in your chest as you relistened to Black Hat’s words. You knew that this experience of apology was not going to be a fun one, but there were many other ways that could have gone!  _ And just great…! He can hear my thoughts! What the FUCK?! I won’t have any privacy around the maniac!  _

Consumed by your thoughts, you didn’t notice Flug. “Y-y/n...are you alright…? Black Hat can a-act a bit more...startling...when he’s injured.” 

You stood there still a bit unsure of everything that was said to you. “S í...estoy bien.” [Yeah...I’m good.] You lie. You look to the ground, not wanting to stare at your friend’s face with your sinning eyes. 

Taking a moment to recollect yourself, you plaster on a fake smile. “Parece que se recuperarár bien.” [He looks like he will recover well.]

Flug agreed with a nod. “Yes, I-I’m sure he will...I just h-hope nothing like this happens again. Whatever got him could actually stand a chance at killing him...b-but then again, B-Black Hat did say that the th-threat was gone…” 

You coughed sharply, shaking Flug. “Sí, la amenaza se ha ido.” [Yes, the threat is gone.] All of this lying made you sick. “N...necesito ir ahora.” [I...I need to go now…] 

Flug wrinkled his paper bag. “Y-you do….? Where?” 

_ I don’t have much that I can do now...but there is one thing.  _ “T-tengo que...continuar mi trabajo.” [I-I have to...continue my job.] Your voice punctures the air with a stab. 

_ My mission is to kill Black Hat...but I know that I just can’t. But I refuse to just pass away. I will return home.  _ You flood with confidence, and lift your chin higher. You were going to keep doing what you do best without hurting anyone, and in the end, things will turn out okay. 

Black Hat is wrong. 

You control yourself. 

Not this mission.  

Flug still had his eyes on you as you move slowly away. You begin to float down to the basement, taking the hall, and plotting out your next nuisance to perform. It had to be absolutely annoying, but you knew not to enrage Black Hat anymore for today. 

_ It would do better to make sure to calm Black Hat or just leave him be...Maybe I could pull of something typically irritable, but still relaxing.  _ You blink at your thoughts.  _ No, no...that doesn’t make any sense. _

Your mind goes into overflow, bubbling up insane ideas, but it isn’t until you look down at your communicator when you think of something particularly interesting...something  _ genius!  _

You stop in your tracks, idea still in mind.  _ But how am I going to pull that off…?  _ You tap your chin and sigh.  _ Maybe it isn’t such a good idea… _

“Flug,” You moderately paced back over to the bagged scientist. “¿Hay un sistema de altavoces aquí?” [Is there a speaker system here?]

Flug hadn’t expected you to come back and he had begun walking away himself, but he heard you and quickly jumped back around. “I-I...well, yes...but only Black Hat can use it. The controls are in his office. The speakers are really only used when he is trying to make an announcement from his work station…” Flug paused and was paralyzed realizing how much information he handed the cunning poltergeist. “Uh...w-why d-do you need to know…?” 

In a suspicious and almost wicked way, you lowly chuckled under your breath and twirled back around, in a much better mood. “Oh...nada más que algo para llamar la atención del jefe…” [Oh...nothing more than something to get the boss’s attention…]

Flug swallowed a fearful protesting remark and thought to himself:  _ Oh great...they are already going to rile him up again.  _

He had to say something to you. “Y-y/n...D-do you really h-have to do this right now...he’s injured and-” 

I popped suddenly in his face so quickly that the movement wasn’t visible to the human eye, so he was stricken with shock for a moment. 

“¡Es por eso que tengo que hacer esto!” [That is why I have to do this!] I exclaimed, clutching the scared man’s shoulder, so he didn’t capsize _.  _

“ _ WHAAA! Okayokayokay!  _ I-I g-g-got it!” He sputtered out in alarm. 

You release him and he stumbles back slightly, but doesn’t fall at least. You rub the back of my cool, ghostly neck. “L-lo siento…” [I-I’m sorry…] You cough and look into his eyes. “Necesito disculparme con él...con todos…” [I need to apologize to him...to everyone…]

His head tilted, confused by your statement. He still believed the lie Black Hat had proposed to the rest of the household, so he didn’t understand you. “You didn’t do anything though...he’s just mad because something tore him up is all. D-don’t let his words g-get to your head.”   
His comforting was kind...if it were true. “No entiendes, Flug...” [You don’t understand, Flug...] You shake you head and sink lower, descending closer to the ground and folding your arms. “Tienes que dejarme hacer esto. Es mi trabajo.” [You have to let me do this. It is my job.] 

Flug was still bewildered, but he nodded with his morals rebelling against his actions. “A-alright...j-just don’t do anything too...rash…” He gulped and looked away from you. 

You give a small smile hearing the approval, but at the same time you feel the weight of your previous actions. Something had to be done about that.

You remembered what Black Hat told you...how he hates apologies. And so, you were going to do just that. Again. It was sure to annoy him, but at the same time, you would let him know you  _ truly were sorry _ . 

Presentation was going to be difficult of course, but having the speaker system to use was going to make it much easier.

You thank Flug and ascend further in the air, floating above and over him so you can begin to head over to Black Hat’s office. 

Demencia and 5.0.5. were still hanging around in that area, 5.0.5. cleaning the last of the broken articles, rubbing off the stained blood on the carpet, and doing his best to rid the glitter. Demencia wasn’t much help to him though, rolling around on the sparkling ground getting particles of pink shine in her hair. They both acknowledge your presence in different ways, 5.0.5. nervously whining, probably still scared of your toast army more than anything, but waving a bit and continuing to organize. Dementia's smile stretched across her face into a cheshire grin and she hollered up at you. “Hey there ghosty goo! We’re cleaning your mess!” 

To which 5.0.5.’s expression darted over to the psychotic girl reading, “What do you mean, ‘we’re?’” 

You attempt to communicate with them in a way they can comprehend. “Hey...I need to use th-this...room.”

Demencia sat up and cocked her head. “Really? What for?” She looked a bit to curious and seemed almost defensive. 

“I...want to play music over the…” You were blanking. “Th-the...ah, spice. No,steak…? Speak? Ugh...thing with voice.” You pointed up at the ceiling were one of the speakers were.     

“OH!” Demencia snapped. “You wanna use the intercom system!” She shrugged. “Guess I won’t stop you. But just as a warning, my bae is gonna rip you up if you piss him off much more. He’s more aggressive when he’s hurt.” She purred. “And I like that~”

You roll your eyes a bit at her purring. “ Así que he escuchado…” [So I’ve heard…] You reply to Dementia's warning. 

“Say what now?” She rose an eyebrow.

“N-nothing…” You switch quickly back to english.

Demencia jumped up and grabbed the cyan bear who had just finished. “Come on, bear, let’s ditch. Ghosty is going to play stuff on the intercom. Let’s not be here when Black Hat comes.” She gave you a toothy, bit mocking grin. “Have fun~!” 

5.0.5. looked worried, and he whined, but he gathered the cleaning supplies gave you a timid glance and shuffled alongside Demencia. 

_ Whelp! It’s mine now!  _

You step inside and try to disregard the strong scent of Clorox and other cleaning solutions.  _ At least this is better than the pungent scent of the iron liquid that was abundant in the office earlier.  _ Regret nagged at your arteries.

You wanted that feeling gone. As soon as possible. 

_ Let’s hope this works!  _

You whip out your communicator from your side, and look at it in your palm. It has disassembled and rejointed pieces of radio and walkie talkie pieces, and it can pit up noise and record.  _ This is going to come in handy. _

You float through Black Hat’s desk, and sit in the giant ominous chair. It was actually quite soft and comfortable. Black Hat’s desk had several items still strewn on the surface, such as some pens, one paper, a file with some layouts, with some small doodles, a computer and next to it the intercom system controls. The computer screen was still open and several tabs were running. You being nosy took the grand opportunity to flip through: three of them were email with different business with different villains and request forms, another looked like music, paused on a song titled “Gorey Demise” by Creature Feature, and the last one at the end was a picture of some kind of advertising campaign with Black Hat and the others in workout clothing. You questionably mouth the word, “okay…” and open a new tab. 

One the new tab you pulled up a music making website and pretended to pop your neck and crack your finger joints. “Hagámoslo.” [Let’s do it.] You place the communicator on the desk as well for when you are ready to use it. You smile. 

_ This is going to be the best apology/nuisance. _

 

Black Hat laid awake when he heard his scientist enter the room again. 

“ _What is it now. I want to be left alone, Flug._ ” He hissed, peeved by his presence.   
“S-sorry sir, I-I-I just n-need to get m-my blueprints…!” He stammered. He had thought Black Hat was dozed off.

“Whatever.” Black Hat rolled to the side, feeling a sting but ignoring it. “Get it and _ get the fuck out _ .” He snarled and lowered his voice, knowing it would intimidate Flug.

“Y-yes s-s-sir!” He scrambled to get his things and leave. He scoped up the blueprints on the back table and headed for the exit, but to his alarm, the boss stopped him before he could leave.

“Flug.” He growled. Flug stop and turned around, frightened Black Hat would rip him to shreds because he said something wrong. 

“...Where is the poltergeist?” He asked. He had a sixth sense that tingled in him and sparked a warning informing him that they were up to no good...He felt something in his office and it made him foam at the mouth with rage, gnashing his teeth. 

Flug squeaked. “I-I-I d-d-don’t kn-know…” He lied in a high octave. 

Black Hat glared with intensity over at him, causing a red glow to make itself visible in his one eye and shine from the monocle concealing his other. “I know a lie when I hear one.” 

Flug was completely paralyzed; every muscle and functioning cell frozen...or else he may have pissed himself. He couldn’t say anything. He didn’t have the desire to be ripped down to his subparticles of each of his atoms, but he didn’t want y/n to suffer the same by giving the dangerous, treacherous animal their location. 

But it didn’t matter. 

Before anything more could be said between the two men, the ceiling rang with an announcement from the intercom. 

Black Hat’s face dipped in disgust as he heard the words of a shuffling paper, a cough, and a thick spanish accent of an english voice. “G-good evening...I am y/n for those who are unaware of my name. I want to say I...I am sorry to Black Hat. Sorry for...hurting you...sir.” 

“ _ What is this?! _ ” Black Hat roared pointing at the speaker and searching for answers from his scientist. Flug shrugged, beyond perplexed.

“...I hope you people like music! I m-made it myself….Here it comes!” 

The sad melody of the digital guitar and piano ring through the entire household, and you click your communicator, which begins to sing out your prerecorded voice. 

Black Hat sat still and stared at nothing in particular. 

“What…?” He whispered to himself, being forced to listen to the tune of sorrow.  

Flug’s figure eased as he heard the voice and rhythm of the sad song. A wave of blue washed over him and placed him in a state of slight hypnosis as he heard the mysterious double layered distortion of your vocals. 

Melancholy rarely could touch Black Hat, but it was trying to pierce his ice exterior. Afterall, he is not immune to emotions, he just finds the display of such frivolous things annoying. If his annoyance had been less than his other mingled emotions, maybe he would have felt something more in the music.  

He could not move from out of the lab, so he sat there and just let the song continue. Something about it made him feel oddly calm...but not so oddly vexed by the action and the fact they  _ knew _ how he felt about apologies. He hated when people who wronged him asked for forgiveness, and here they are... _ performing _ forgiveness. 

_ It’s utterly irking...what they do to get under my skin...the measures they take. Even when I tell them to stop they advance in crossing me.  _

After about two minutes had passed, the intercom pick up a small click from you stopping the song. “Thank you for your time...and yes...I did that to annoy.” You stick out your tongue to vent off some of your pride and flip the speakers off. 

Black Hat and Flug stay put in silence for a moment, still looking up. 

“Uh...uh, sir…?” Flug softly said. Black Hat altered his gaze back to a menacing frown realizing, his mouth was slightly open from a bit of astonishment his mind had not condoned of. 

“What?” He spat. 

“N-nothing!” He blushed and sprinted towards the door and slammed it behind him.

Once Flug was gone, Black Hat shifted back down trying to get in a comfortable position as he waded in his thoughts. 

_ Stupid poltergeist. _

He shifted some more.

_ Stupid song. _

He felt his cheeks heat up from embarrassment of y/n revealing their apology to not just him, but  _ everyone _ .

_ Stupid apology. _

Part of Black Hat enjoyed that composition. He thought it was enticing the way y/n was able to create art so quickly since he was an admirer of music.  _ The instruments complemented each other well. It was simple and could have been performed better but it wasn’t...bad… _

He noticed the careless thoughts crossing his conscious.  

_ Stupid emotions!  _

He tried to rest himself, but he was absolutely restless after how his mind was disturbing him. 

_ Ugh...Fucking dead people… they never change. Annoying as always.  _

He repeated in his mind as he had earlier and vainly tried to slumber uninterrupted.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long to update >~< But hey!  
> I do have an excuse~! I made a Halloween spin off of this story and it is a Flug x Reader! It may be past October, but there's nothing like a good Halloween fic if you still wanna check it out: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571064  
> I also made a song called "Lo Siento Mucho" based off of this chapter.  
> "Lo Siento Mucho" by Z_Retribution: https://zretribution.tumblr.com/post/167433693321/make-sure-your-volume-is-on-this-is-my-original  
> (WARNING: It's SAD)  
> \--Also--  
> "Gorey Demise" by Creature Feature (the song that was open on Black Hat's computer. In case you are curious): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zja0n92TxQ8
> 
> Thank you for your patience! I hope the song was worth the time!  
> (Also, please do not use the song or take without my permission)


	8. Archivos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some description of gore towards the end correlating with some messed up past records the reader finds. (Just thought I'd let you know if you are a queasy person!)   
> Also: There are many of little hints sprinkled everywhere in here (some of them more visible than others) so keep an open mind to the allusions and foreshadowing, people! It's there!

“Anne. File this now.”

Skyles entered the office with a tired morning face and thermos of heated caffeine as he immediately got to ordering around Anne. He slammed down a new file on the desk and flopped into a chair, sighing. 

“Yes sir. Which drawer?” Anne stopped everything and moved hastily to her new command. 

Skyles groaned and sipped his coffee. “Under...uh, my file.” Anne puzzled. Skyles pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering. “The... _ my file. _ ” 

Anne noticed the gauze wrapped firmly around his bare elbow, a cotton ball in the center. 

“Oh…” Anne realized what he was referencing and slipped open the first drawer. As it rolled, the neatly organized files came to view; each one containing his personal investigation he started. 

“May I ask what you discovered? Good information?” Anne tried to lighten his mood.

Skyles shook his head. “Nah...I ran into another blank. As far as the case I really was looking for...no trace of what the injections did other than the obvious side effects...” 

Anne’s expression saddened. “What’s in here then, sir?” 

Dr. Skyles stood back up, unwrapping his gauze and walking to the hook holding his lab coat. “That’s some things I found on... _ that doctor… _ ” He gritted his teeth and snarled, remembering the cursed past event that brought him his misery. 

Anne nodded, slid the drawer closed, stepped away from the file cabinet and back to her desktop. 

_ Ever since the abduction, he has behaved like this.  _ Anne thought.  _ Determined to find out the truth of what happened… _

Skyles snapped his fingers and turned around sharply, buttoning his coat. “Anne, have you spoken to Solferno at all?” 

She was looked up, contemplating. “Hm...Solferno...yes, I saw the request form and spoke with the young man. He seems very...ambitious. I’m assuming y/n was a good friend of his or something?” 

“So it appears... “ Skyles slipped out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. “If any hero is willing to  _ go up against Black Hat _ to avenge a person  _ who hasn’t even been declared deceased _ , they would have to love them immensely or just be utterly suicidal, to the point of  _ insanity _ .” He released the smoke slowly, letting it glide out of his lips and seep, dispersing into the air. “Probably option one in his case, but he could just be fucking crazy.” 

Anne did not reply, instead she coughed from the smoke and nodded. 

“Did you inform him of his obligations he must fulfill since he entered the case?” 

Anne flinched. “No…” 

Dr. Skyles’ eyebrow twitched and he frowned. “Well then... _ why are you still here?! _ ” He lashed.

The nurse scurried out in his mid sentence, predicting his sudden mood swing. Anytime she did not do something that was “common sense” she knew he would switch to a very aggressive boss in a New York second. 

Dr. Skyles rubbed his temples, feeling his brain snap with a quick change of emotions much too abruptly, just as usual. 

_ One day karma will get him...it has to… _ His conscious writhed suppressed fury towards the puppeteer behind his miserable, spastic behavior. 

 

The morning was here, the sun peeking through the curtains of Black Hat manor, radiating the inside with warmth. You sat in the kitchen at the table, waiting for more people to arrive. 5.0.5. was humming and cooking a traditional egg, bacon, and potato breakfast. 

Demencia was the first one there, slithering up to the bear and snatching some freshly prepared bacon, gnawing down on it quickly, burning her tongue. She mini-howled at first, but despite frying the roof of her mouth, she proceeded to chow down on the pig strip and tear down like an animal. 5.0.5. rolled his eyes a bit and sighed, shaking his head and making a small grunt of disapproval towards her choices. 

She grabbed three more pieces of bacon and pounced to the seat next to you, eyes wide and insanely close. Perhaps it was her own way of friendly conversational beginnings. “So ghosty, how ya doin’~” She ripped off another thick slice of meat. “Oh, nice song by the way. Really emotional...” 

Crumbs tumbled out of her mouth and some landed a bit close to you making you slide to the side slightly to get some more distance between you two. “Uh...y-yes…” 

“How much english can you actually speak? Maybe you should practice that more…You know, you spoke some english in that little tune, but it wasn’t that impressive...” 

Before you could open your mouth to retort, Demencia abruptly shot up, with a new expression on her face. “Don’t try to impress Black Hat. He’s mine, got it?” 

“W-wha…?” You furrow your brow.  _ Does she know what she’s talking about anymore. It is way too early in the morning to be doing this...  _

Demencia leaned down and glared. “What? Do you speak english in whats?” 

“What…?”

“ENGLISH MOTHER FUCKER! DO YOU SPEAK IT!?” She imitated Jules Winnfield in her own psychotic voice.

_ How am I supposed to answer that? I know she is off her rocker and all, but I think she jumped off her rocker then grabbed a chainsaw and just went ape shit wild on it, hacking it to little wooden splinters.  _

Your gaze avoided eye contact with the lunatic, so Demencia tried to grab your cheeks and force you to look at her. Instead her hands went  _ into  _ your face, clapping where your skull would be, vibrating your head. You fell back in shock, looking at her with a wildly surprised, flustered eyes. But at least her goal of grabbing your attention was accomplished, and she just simply continued as you gawked at the rudeness. 

“Black Hat is mine!  _ Mine! _ Don’t think that he will like you because you sang him a cute little apology song! The two of us have been together longer and just because you _ want him  _ doesn’t mean  _ you _ can  _ have him!”  _ Demencia hissed between her teeth at you. 

You both exchanged looks for a moment in silence, as 5.0.5. stared at the dramatic scene which Demencia rose off an utter assumption. 

You blink.

And blink once more. 

“ _ QUE MIERDA ES ESTO?!”  _ [ _ WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! _ ] You scream finally with a startling booming, thunderous bass. The insides of Demencia, 5.0.5., and Flug, who had just entered through the door frame, rumbled and contorted around other organs in fear of your outburst. 

All of them cowered a bit, but didn’t have the strength to run. 

So they could understand, you attempted more complex english. “He killed me.  _ Killed. Murdered.  _ Destroyed my hope of _ not only getting home, but also getting home and enjoying a margarita shooter!  _ Why would I like him the tinest bite?! He’s a...a…” After noticing you said “tinest bite” instead of “tiniest bit” you began to stumble over your raging words. 

“He’s a-” 

“ _ Watch your words. _ ” 

There beside Flug was the dark, menacing man himself, emerging from the shadows and standing tall, lips tightly pinched together in a frown, looking recovered and well. 

Flug jumped in surprise from the eldritch sneaking up behind him. 5.0.5. ineffectively hid himself behind a plate which he shakily brought up to his face, and Demencia, also nervous, slid back, slumping and waved in Black Hat’s direction. She got a grimace in return. 

You suck in some air and slowly release it. 

“Buenos dias…” [Good morning…] You awkwardly laugh.

“It seems, I’m the center of attention this morning. Like most days.” He strided over to 5.0.5. and snapped his fingers and the cyan fluff ball as an order to make his plate. The overwrought pet panicked into action to whip up his boss’ first meal of the day. 

Black Hat’s attention refocused on the two beings at the table. “But today...there is  _ bad talk _ about me...is that so y/n?” You stay silent. “I don’t tolerate... _ bad talk about me.”  _

You plaster on a calm facade as you slowly begin to ease yourself down to the basement, passing through the floor at a constant, painstakingly turtle state. 

Black Hat scoffed. “I am not done talking!” He barked at your descending, increasingly transparent figure. 

_ Doesn’t matter…. _ You thought.  _ This is one of those situations where I wish I could just disappear magically, and I’m a poltergeist who is ready to take advantage of that ability right now. _

You guess Black Hat may have read your thoughts judging by the deep scowl of disapproval you caught as the rest of you seeped through the floor. 

You were just gonna take your leave now, and let Demencia handle the shit she started. 

You landed on your couch and released the captured air that had not been freed from your body.  _ That was pretty tense.  _

You allowed your mind to step back and try to make sense of the puzzle pieces that were tossed at you back there.  _ Okay...so Demencia thinks I’m trying to “take” Black Hat away from her and Black Hat now definitely knows that I still think lowly of him, though I’m sure he already knew that…  _

You groan into the side of the soft furniture as though it was your best friend consoling you. You didn’t want to think about what Demencia was likely to try and do to you considering her rather unhealthy obsession. You may be able to just get away, but having her up your end and keeping her psychotic eyes focused on you was going to be an uneasy, very apprehensive experience. 

_ That song was meant to annoy Black Hat...what doesn’t she get about that? Oh well, just another thorn I have to put up with here...but I will make sure I am the most obnoxious in this house to Black Hat. That’s for sure.  _

Though, it may be hard to top Demencia's annoyances.

You can just think of more great schemes. 

_ And speaking of which...what should I do today?  _

You get into a more comfortable position and begin to tap your chin, in an attempt to find a fake beard to stroke.  _ It needs to be something creative...not too huge, but definitely noticeable… _ You scroll through a list of mental images containing a slew of knowledge about the manor until you find the one thought you needed. 

_ Ah! Simple disorganization and replacement!  _ Even if it was basic, it was sure to piss off the boss.      

You stroll over to the bookshelf holding ancient text and photo albums.  _ I can empty out the drawers of his filing cabinets, rearranging the current documents with these dusty babies!  _

You smile and begin loading some old hardbacks in your arms. Occasionally you glanced down at some of the titles:  _ How to Kill Your Twin, Medusa’s Garden and Statue Reserve, 101 Ways to Dominate the World,  _ and  _ Finding the Right Scientist _ were among the more fascinating. 

In total, you pulled out ten, before you set them down on the small, black coffee table. Turning back to the shelf, you pick off a photo album and flipped to the first page. There was a note written in wonderful cursive penmanship reading: 

 

_ Brother, it is brought to my attention that you no longer wish to speak with me. I am sorry things have to be like this, but I do hope you will at least be willing to remember the fonder years: the ones where we lived happily, ignorant to this hero and villain division. In here, I have dated and arranged some memories. I hope you at least look at it once, if not everyday. I miss you, brother.  _

_ -White Hat _

 

You stare at the sad ignored plea, dated from years back.  _ He stays distant from his own family… _ You conclude grimmly. You had not even considered who Black Hat was _ before _ he was a villain. Clearly, someone had cared for him even though he is a despicable asshole. 

You turn to the next page, venturing further. Inside of clear covers were pictures of two young boys. One obviously Black Hat, judging by the eye roll and frowning face. The other boy had an arm wrapped around Black Hat and beamed warmly at the camera.  _ That must be White Hat.  _

They were twins; very noticeably alike in many ways as far as physical appearance, yet so divergent in expression. You think back to the book you read the title of earlier:  _ How to Kill Your Twin.  _

_ To think…! That monster wanted to kill the one person who still genuinely cares about him!  _ Part of you was shocked, but not too much, given his personality. Compassion and gratitude is not something he is willing to break his exterior for...  

You set the album down next to the old books. You were  _ definitely _ bringing those pictures to his office and spreading them on his desk! 

_ Let’s see...musty books, childhood photos...what more?  _ You found another album, and opened it, eager to flip your nosy nose through the pages and soak in more information. 

But...It was not at all what you  _ wanted _ or  _ expected _ to see however. 

These photos were not of Black Hat. They were layouts, blue prints, notes of observations, photos of experimentation, and records of results. All of the projects were far advanced...and so many, inhumane.

Your devastated eyes, widened by alarm and fueled by aghast sinking of your innards, read some of the titles relating to the gruesome pictures:  _ Twin Human Splicing (Derrick/Darlene), Multipurposes of Organs as Antibodies, Eldritch Decomposition (Deterioration Observation) _ ,  _ Injecting Humans with Viruses, Creating Hybrids (Animal/Human/Eldritch), Identifying Point of Insanity, Gamma Rays Against Living Matter, Regrowing Limbs, Lobotomy, Isolation, Removing Head from Body: Zombie State/Control, Freudian Mind Manipulation, Robots Capable of Digestion… _

Each experiment had complete background information and was organized in a professionally neat chronological flow of introduction, hypothesis, materials, procedures, photographic results, statistical data, conclusion, and most awful to read, the application.  __

“Cual  _ es _ esto…?” [What  _ is _ this…?] You gasp in horror.  _ Impossible! These can’t be Flug’s…! Can they?  _

Clammy hands, and shaken emotions engulf you, and you drop the book. Your ghostly limbs drifted numbly, and your traumatized mind desperately searched and called out for the subconscious and dormant sections of thought willing to aid you back to serenity. The pictures burned into your eyes and threatened to tattoo your head permanently...picturing the images of violent gore, bloody insides, horrific screaming faces of humans, animals, and hybrid creation being brought to a painful reality from a wretched lab, disassembled limbs, severed veins and organs, lengths of scattered organs, doomsday devices tested on unwilling victims, manipulation, loss of control, panic, insanity, and finally leading down in one way or another to an awful, treacherous, demise. 

_ No...this isn’t Flug...this isn’t any of them…!  _

Slowly and reluctantly you let yourself look at the open page of the cursed bindings. There was a picture of the mastermind: stained lab coat, tinted goggles, rubber gloves, and, most notably a paper bag covering whatever expression. Below that was the name of the name of the wicked savage. You strain your eyes to read the name, but your senses picked up another presence. 

“Y-y/n….! W-what are you d-doing?!” Squealed a shocked male voice, muffled by paper and a couple octaves higher than usual.  

Whipping around, you barely see the doctor as he dives to the floor, scrambling to the book, slamming it shut, and pressing it tightly against his chest. “W-w-what a-all d-d-did you see?!”   

You stay quiet, paralyzed. 

“Oh god...l-look...don’t panic...Y-you could harm yourself i-if you d-do...Th-that isn’t m-” 

You launch yourself behind the bookshelf and remain hidden from the mad scientist. “Explicame tu mismo...ahora!” [Explain yourself...now!] You quiver, not seeming very powerful or demanding, but you felt unsafe and exposed, giving you the urge to hide yourself, thus cowering behind the bookshelf of dark secrets.

Flug made a small strangled sound from the other side and you heard a solid hit the coffee table, as though he dropped the book back down.

“...Y/n….please listen.” He said as he cleared his throat. “First of all, if you panic, you can hurt your physical body so try to be calm and p-please….stop cowering from me….” 

The sincerity reached your ears and something about the his smooth voice made you ease up. Suddenly, you notice a fast thump in your transparent chest, though you had no organs because you were a poltergeist; it was a sign from your body that you were going into shock somewhere and needed to calm down before it became untreatable. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, you can feel the hammering die down to normal. You repeat this over and over, staying still and recollecting yourself just as Flug told you. 

Then, listening to the second command in Flug’s previous statement, you float back through the bookcase and face the eyes of the doctor. You noticed how misted his goggles were and sag in the paper mask covering him. His slump in his shoulders adjusted to a little more normality in posture upon seeing you. 

_ I was WAY wrong...the man in the picture is not the man right here.  _ You reassure yourself, descending downwards until your feet pressed against the ground of the basement.

“Th-thank you…” He whispered and shuffled in place. 

Lifting his head, he met my gaze and began. “The scientist in the photos...the one who did all those things...his name is Dr. Slys. He has an obsession with, well, insane projects and illegal studies.” 

You nod, following along so far. 

“He’s known as an ex-criminal, but I believe he is still the same as usual...He works with Black Hat’s brother…” He fidgeted uneasily and sighed. “Look, y/n...I have n-nothing against you or anything, b-but I c-c-can’t give you much information about the two of them, okay? Th-the boss would s-skin me!”   

You would pout, since you wanted more information to be completely appeased, but knowing that the person in the pictures was  _ not _ Flug made you feel better by thousands of notches. You try to smile and let Flug know that it was okay. After all, you were the one who went snooping into other’s privacy. 

“THERE YOU ARE GHOSTY! I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU!!!” Demencia slammed through the door and ran down the stairs in one swift movement. 

The abrupt switch of atmosphere took you back for a moment, but you knew exactly why she wanted you and what she wanted to do. Throwing the previous conversation under the rug, you resiliently spring to action. 

_ Oh lord, this again?!  _ “¡Demencia, detener!” [Demencia, stop!] You wail as you dart like a jet into the air, avoiding the crazed lizard girl. 

Startled by the change, Flug curled himself under the coffee table for safety. “Demencia! They said stop!” 

“I don’t care! I will not let this go! I HAVE ENDURANCE!” She screamed continuing her dangerous game of tag outside of the basement and down one of the many halls. “BLACK HAT IS MINE, BITCH!!!” 

_ Ugh...once she’s worn down, I can finish my nuisance for the day… _

A lightbulb switched on and flickered in the back of your head, comically spreading a devilish grin to your cheeks.

_ Or...I could kill two birds with one stone~!  _

_ Two annoyance ideas for one day...hell yeah!  _   
  



	9. Unidos

Demencia was still in pursuit, chasing you wildly up, down, and through walls.  _ Just as planned.  _ You smugly grin. All you need is for her to keep sprinting anywhere to get you.  _ Anywhere and everywhere in the manor.  _

You laugh, releasing some of your cunning intentions. “¡No pares ahora, Demencia! En el momento en que lo haga, lo voy a robar!” [Don’t stop now, Demencia! The moment you do, I’m going to steal him!] You cooed.  

She growled a bit. “I have no clue what you are saying ghosty, but just know that when I get a hold of you, you’re gonna get it!” 

You smugly turn the corner and speak to Demencia’s understanding. “Then come and get me!” You throw out your arms as mockery and dive into Black Hat’s office, snickering.  _ Now I just have to wait.  _

Sharply, with a flicker if a grievous thought in mind, you turn around to check.  _ Nope. No Black Hat. _

The door flew open not a second later, and Demencia found you sitting lounged in Black Hat’s nice chair, with your feet propped on the desk. “What took long?” You say in choppy english. 

“That’s not your chair!” Demencia fumed. “Only me and Blacky can sit there! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” 

You look down at your transparent finger nails, observing how...transparent they were. It surprised you a bit that you didn’t notice them until now as you were pretending to ignore Demencia. 

“Hm?” You hum looking up. 

Demencia launched herself back up in the air and missiled towards the desk. Right before she could grab hold of you, you quickly float up above her head, and she hits the chair, messing up some files from his desk as she is at it. 

_ It’s working…!  _ You examine with a cheshire grin.  _ Black Hat has a category 5 hurricane Demencia in his office!  _

As she pounced and slithered on the walls to get you in midair where you were floating, she knocked over pictures, vases, books, papers, and dipped the corner of Black Hat’s computer, adjusting it, but not damaging it. 

Another thought popped in your head and, avoiding getting snatched by the crazed hybrid girl, you dove down and hastily typed in some music to the computer. Specifically, “I’m a Barbie Girl” which was sure to annoy him when he went to go find his music files of Creature Feature and Voltaire. 

You laughed kicking the air, but ceased when you felt Demencia jump right through you, pulsing an odd sensation throughout your figure. You gasp as the living cold-blood passed through your torso, and then feel yourself latch to her involuntarily, moving in the same direction she was heading. 

“¡¿Que caraja es pasando?!” [What the fuck is happening?!] You shrilly cry out. Demencia yelped and you both dove into the window at full force, shattering the glass and watching the shards sprinkle around you like detrimental crystals. You saw on of the clear pieces hit Demencia’s upper arm, and seep out capillary blood. 

More peculiar, your same arm, correlating to the one Demencia had harmed, began to sting as though it was hit too, and the back of your head felt bruised and weary. 

Despite being surrounded by glass Demencia began to flail. “GHOSTY,  _ GET OUT OF ME!!! LET ME GO!!! _ ” Your bodies had merged together. You were connected to Demencia’s shoulder and back making the two of you look like a really bad video game glitch. 

You squirm around and tell yourself to pass through, but it wasn’t working; you couldn’t feel the other limbs of your lower body. Your figure was inside of her, aside from the upper body, arms, and head.  _ We’re stuck!  _ You conclude in terror.

Just as your reach your conclusion a ragefully eldritch stands in the doorway, snarling and growling at the two of you.

_ Oh shit, shit, shit, SHIT!  _ You can feel your unattached heart pound...unless it was Dementia's heart. In desperation, you try to sink through the floor but it doesn’t work when attached to a  _ living person _ . 

Demencia squeals like a pig, noticing the ginormous mess she made and the vexed Black Hat. She was  _ NOT _ willing to stick around. She tried to slither up and through the hole in the window to the outdoor so she could snake into another room on the opposite side of the manor. However, much like your situation, she could not scramble outside, because you were connected to her and could not leave the walls of the manor. 

Ignoring the friction, Demencia continued to thrash against the window, genuinely panicked, but all it was doing was scratching up both her hands and yours. “¡Demencia, detener!” [Demencia, stop!] You call to her from her shoulder, but she refuses to slump in defeat.   
Suddenly, booming laughter comes from behind you two and you both freeze from the deep wicked thunder pounding on your eardrums. “You _IDIOTS_!” He happily laughs in sadistic contentment at your struggling horror and pathetic situation. “I have no clue how you managed this, but I have to admit, this is the most amusing sight I’ve seen since I left an entire dimension in ruins.” He grabbed his abdomen still vocalizing his mirth.

You and Demencia exchange glances, unsure of what to do.  _ Well...if we are stuck together, we are going to need to work together… _

Demencia’s face lit up. “Ghosty! I just understood what you said! Well, thought!” She squeaked in alarm to you over the psychotic boss’ merriment.

Your eyes widened, but at the moment, this could work to your advantage. It was almost similar to how Black Hat knew what you were thinking at a certain distance.  _ Demencia! We can bicker more later, but right now we have to get out of here!  _ She nodded, listening.  _ Good, good...okay. You’re quick right? Slither up the wall and closer towards the ceiling. Do not go over Black Hat’s head okay? He could reach us better if you do that. _

Nodding once more she gets to the walls and sprints out. As you both reach the hall, you hear Black Hat yell at us, but it was too late.  _ Alright! Don’t stop! Get to Flug’s lab. _

Demencia wrinkled her nose. “Who made you the boss? I’m the one moving!”

Irritated by her incompetence you thought so she understood.  _ Flug can tell us what the hell is going on, and maybe he can find a way to separate us! _

“Yeah, well it’s your fault, ghosty! Why did you do this?” She barked in your face. 

_ I know about as much as you on this situation! I’m still getting used to being a poltergeist. Besides, I remember correctly: you jumped into me and now I’m stuck!  _

Demencia sneered. “You instigated, dumb ass! You should have known better than to rile me up!” She dropped from the wall and banged on the lab door, hoping Flug would answer. “Flug, hurry up!” 

You snap your fingers.  _ I bet he’s not in there yet. He was in the basement last time I saw him...before you started trying the chase me around over a petty matter… _

Demencia ignored you and knocked again, huffing. “This is  _ not _ a petty matter! Black Hat and I are practically soulmates, and I refuse to have a stupid ghost take him from me!” 

You slap your hand to your face and drag it down, groaning.  _ Demencia...I don’t like Black Hat. Not the slightest bit. You can have him!  _

Demencia’s spine straightened out and her ears perked up. “Wait...you don’t...?” She puzzled, turning her head to stare at you with giant, dilated eyes.

You sigh in relief, grateful that she is starting to comprehend you.  _ That’s right. I don’t. It’s like I was trying to say earlier: Black Hat killed me and displaced me from my original home. Now I can’t leave here and go find my actual body. I honestly...I…  _ You feel yourself choke on your own thoughts.  _ I want to go home. You are so diluted by your own sick infatuation with the monster that I doubt you see just how much of an asshole he really is…  _ You didn’t deliver that in a rude or aggressive way. It was more mournfully and somberly said.

Demencia was silent for a moment. “Oh, okay...I guess I get that.” She shrugged her shoulders and you bounced from the shoulder you were connected to. “Just, don’t think he’s a complete asshole ok? Black Hat is more than just a powerful eldritch. He has a past and a reason for his behaviors. Get to know him before you judge him as one thing.” 

Her words were said so simply, but they touched you with great meaning.  _ I didn’t know she was capable of saying something like that… _

“Saying something like what?” Demencia asked you. 

You feel like smacking your face, completely forgetting that your minds were linked. 

Before you could speak, Flug ran down the hall catching his breath. “W-w...why did you c-call me- Oh!” He looked up and immediately noticed the problem. “H-how o-on earth did th-this happen?!” He shrieked in a high octave out of bewilderment. 

“Ella saltó a través de mí.” [She jumped through me.] I quickly blur out in spanish to Flug, leaving out details.

Demencia nodded. “Yeah, she made me all upset and what not, and so I lunged at her and now I can also understand her thoughts and her spanish!” 

Flug gulped and opened the door to the lab letting you all in. “Oh d-dear...you two c-collided.” He stammered. You both give him blinking, empty stares. “W-well...it takes a f-few days for a poltergeist t-to develop entirely a-and get the hang of all of their conscious and unconscious c-capabilities. Y-you must have b-been in the final stage...getting the a-ability to p-possess living material…” 

You are taken back and shake your head in surprise, alarming Demencia too. “Espera…¿puedo poseer cosas?” [Wait...I can possess things?] 

Flug’s bag ruffled with some shock himself. “Y-you didn’t know…? I’m s-s-surprised you h-haven’t already t-tried! B-but listen...when Demencia jumped through you, you m-must have been doing s-something requiring a physical form to certain parts of your body. J-judging by the stance, she passed through your torso while your arms were solidified c-causing this.” He gestured to the two of you. Demencia awkwardly shifted on her feet. 

“Yeah, okay thanks nerd boy, but how can they get outta me?” Demencia bluntly interrupted, wanting nothing more than the effect to be reversed and not caring about explanation.    

_ Demencia, that’s what he’s going to tell us!  _ You thought in response to her rudeness. 

“I wanna know now!” She barked in your face. 

Flug looked confused between the interaction of the two of you since he didn’t hear my last statement. “Uh...ah, th-that’s the thing…” Flug said snapping your attention back. “I uh….can’t help y-you. Y-you both need to separate by n-natural means. Forcing a p-poltergeist out of someone will o-only harm the p-person whom the s-spirit is latched on to...Th-the only w-way to successfully get a ghost off of a p-person is an ex-exorcism, and d-doing that will k-kill y/n.” 

You stay silent and look down. You have no clue  _ how _ to get off. 

“So, you are saying with  _ all _ of your genius and  _ all _ of your scientific knowledge, the smartest person in the house has  _ no clue _ how to separate us?!” Demencia groaned and crossed her arms. 

Flug nervously sweated. “I...I could t-take a few guesses, but that’s a...correct...statement…” 

_ Don’t push him Demencia. I’m sure we can find a way out on our own.  _ You think to her, hoping she won’t yell at the timid little doctor anymore. 

Demencia rolled her eyes, not replying to you verbally. “Can you  _ at least _ tell us of a way that you think we could separate?” 

Beads of sweat penetrated the paper bag and streamed down his visible neck. He tugged on the collar of his shirt for more air, and then clapped his hands together holding them steady by his chest. “...h-have you two….t-taken the time to just t-talk together…? I-I hear i-if you g-get further acquainted w-with the g-ghost inside of y-you, there is a b-better chance that y-y/n can ease out of you and no one will get hurt….I’ve only  _ heard  _ of this though, a-and I d-don’t know if I t-trust the source…” 

“¿ Dónde leíste eso?” [Where did you read that?] You asked, piqued with curiosity. 

“It was one of the experiments of…” He paused and swallowed something like worry. “...Dr. Slys…”

“Oh…” Your heart wants to scream after hearing the name, still offended by the twisted horrors he performed. 

“I-it’s y-your choice i-if you want to try it o-or not, b-but that is the o-only thing I have on such a thing.”

Demencia answered abruptly. “We’ll do it! Come on, ghosty!” She jumped up on the wall and began to run across the higher section. You dangled off of her shoulder like a doll, watching Flug slump and close the lab door behind you. 

As Demencia slithers around objects she speaks to you. “Alright ghosty, we gotta know more about each other. It’ll be like a cool sleepover kinda event, except I really hope you  _ don’t  _ sleepover because I want you offa me!” 

She jumped off of the walls and landed in front of a door. “Okay! Let’s start talking!” She opened the door to the room and I once again see her room just as it was before:  messy, punk, filled with a jumble of rock vinyls, cut out pictures of Black Hat, and wild plants.

She jumped on her bed, landing on her own stomach as I was connected to her shoulder and back, and was forced to look at the ceiling. Then, she began moving around more, and I flung around in all directions. “It’s hard to find a comfortable position like this...I know!” Quickly, she simply sat up. “There! That’s good enough!” 

“Hm… So how exactly are we gonna do this, ghosty…?” Demencia asked.

You sighed and looked up, thinking for something that would suffice. What exactly did Flug mean by saying “get acquainted further?” You shrug your shoulders and Demencia feels your movement on her back. “Well, to start, my name is y/n, not ghosty. You know that right?” (Because you are connected to Demencia, what you are saying in spanish is being translated in her head so she understands you.)

“Oh! Your name is y/n? I heard it through the intercom, but I was a bit distracted with what I was doing so I didn’t remember it.”  Demencia admitted. “Alright y/n! My name is Demencia...but you already knew that...hm…” She tapped her chin with one of her hands trying to think of something. 

Suddenly she jolted. “Do you like rock?! I love playing the electric guitar! Can you play any instruments?” She erupted with questions.

“Whoa! Y-yeah…” You would have jumped away from her if weren’t attached to her. “I have listened to quite a few rock songs, and I taught myself how to play instruments with some tutorials.”

She excitedly sucked in the majority of the air in the room. “ME TOO!” She she flailed. “I watched YouTube tutorials and such and then I played the songs back on my guitar and now I can play it on my own! I can even make my own songs too!” 

You nod and smile a bit. “Really? That’s pretty cool. I love making songs. It’s relaxing...and once you find the right notes you get a great feeling of…” You trail off trying to think of the word. 

“Success!” Demencia finished for you. “I know what you mean. Maybe that’s another reason why I...you know...chased you around.” You cock my head to the side wanting more said. “See gho- ah, y/n...I thought the song you made was really great. I lied when I called it bland and unimpressive. I guess I just want to make a song for Black Hat…” 

“Then go for it!” You encourage. “He’s very easily annoyed though, so it may be hard to present it…” 

“Yeah...I don’t think he would want to listen to any of my songs. He’s mean sometimes…” Demencia pouted. “But Flug listens to my playlist! Then he yells when the guitar vibrations break his beakers… I think he doesn’t like my music either now that I think of it…” 

You begin to feel a little sad for the poor crazy lizard girl. In a way, all she seemed to want was some attention. You both sat there quietly for two long seconds before you spoke again. “Hey, what if you made something, and when you finish making it, I can play it over the intercom?” 

Dementia's ears perked. “You would do that?” Her eyes widen, getting much closer to mine. “You would help me play my song?!” 

“Of course.” I grin. “It would be great.”  _ For Black Hat’s annoyance, my nuisance work, and Demencia’s contentment.  _

Demencia wrinkled her nose. “Oh…” She read your thoughts and slumped back. 

You see her dramatic change and immediately try to console her. “Oh, no…! I didn’t mean it just for that, really!” You feel your small organ in your chest drop slightly. “I didn’t mean that in an asshole way! I would mainly do it because you’d want me too. Your song is going to be amazing…” 

Demencia looked down at the floor still. “Hey...come on, I’m telling the truth. It was just a joke in my head…” You shift around and place a hand on her shoulder, now floating in front of her. “Prometo que no era lo que quería decir…” [I promise that is not what I meant…] 

You both quickly make eye contact, eyes bulging. 

_ You were separated. _

“Y/n…! It worked! Your offa me!” Demencia leapt up. “Oh, and I have no clue what you said a minute ago…but whatever you did, you did it!” 

“¡Sí! Finalmente.” [Yes! Finally.] When you were trying to console and comfort her, you were able to slip off somehow.  _ Maybe it was because I was telling the truth and reassuring…?  _ “Para ser honesto, realmente no sé lo que hice…” [To be honest, I don’t really know what I just did…]

Demencia stared at you blankly and nervously laughed. “Yeah, uh...I don’t know what you are saying anymore, y/n…” 

“Oh.” You forgot that she wouldn’t understand you. You think of something simple to say that she would understand and leave you on mutual terms. 

“Ah…¿amigas?” You stick out a translucent hand as a peace offer. 

Demencia beamed, delighted, comprehending your gesture. “Hell yeah, mi compadre!” She annunciated every vowel and consonant. It sounded really bad, but she grabbed your hand and shook it once before giving you a hug. 

“...it is ‘compadre’ right...meaning buddy?” She added after releasing you from her tight grip. 

You nod and give a shy smile and small laugh. 

_ Close enough. _


	10. Cita

Your best friend is casually dressing in a t shirt, jeans, and had his favorite jacket flung over his shoulders, but despite the attire his lips were pinched together and eyebrows firm. He was in serious mode. 

“So Anne, you are saying that as the hero of this case, my job right now is to help the investigators in the search for y/n and once found, return her and beat the living shit out of this damn motherfucker who tried to blast them into the realm of the dead right? I can manage that….” 

Anne sat up with good posture and there was a small twitch in her eye. “Well, yes sir….but uh, we would prefer to have Black Hat returned here  _ alive _ …”

He sneered a bit but it was discrete and only lasted less than a second. “I am aware of that, Anne but…” He didn’t let the vocals of what he was going to ask escape his chords. He knew the answer but found it to be rather.. _.unpleasing. _

“I know this situation is troubling to you, Solferno, but I’m sure you will find them. They are very close to you, are they not?” Anne tried to sympathize with him, assuming your absence was eating away at his heart.

Solferno sighed. “Oh, I  _ know _ I’m going to find y/n. I have no doubt about that, but what I also want…” He clenched his fist and his jaw grew tight. “...what I  _ really want _ is to slaughter that eldritch...He had the audacity to take my friend... _ my friend... _ and try to  _ kill them. _ ” Fire began to form around his fists as they gripped the edge of the seat. His friendly eyes changed to display his soul with burning rage. Anne became increasingly worried, afraid he was going to ignite something, even if it was controlled flames. 

“If I had my way for one moment in this damn mission...Black Hat would--” 

Suddenly, the door clicked open and he froze. Both him and Anne whip their heads around. Immediately Solferno stood up, heat worse than the flames of his hands rose to his cheeks as the boss of the HHLC stood in the doorway. 

“Mr. White Hat sir! I-I…” He began sweating.  _ How much of what I said did he hear?! _

White Hat rose a hand slightly dismissing him from continuation of his statement, silencing him. “That is quite alright, Solferno. There is no need to apologize; I understand you are distressed by the disappearance of y/n l/n’s soul and infuriated with my brother.” 

Relief flooded over him as White Hat was collectedly calm, sympathetic, and politely formal as usual. 

“Forgive the intrusion, Anne.” White Hat tipped his top hat to the young lady and she blushed and nodded at her employer’s gentlemanly stance. 

He tapped his cane on the ground twice and leaned against it. “Now then! I came here for business, or else I would love to chat.” He cleared his throat and continued to speak to the two. “Solferno, I came mainly to speak to you about this case you have taken on. I am sure Anne has informed you well?” 

Anne felt a jolt pulse through her having her name mentioned, and nodded. 

“Yes sir, she has.” Solferno agreed to Anne’s nod. 

“Excellent. Then I assume she told you if you capture my brother I want him brought back here thoroughly secured and  _ alive _ .” 

“Uh...yes sir...that is what she was just telling me.” 

White Hat clapped his hands together once. “Fantastic! Then I came around the right time!” 

He slipped a hand into his jacket and pulled out a manila folder, approaching Solferno and swiftly putting it in his line of reach. “Here you are! I had my doctor put together some organized papers on all the information we have on the notorious villain, Black Hat. I want you to review this carefully... “ 

As Solferno took the papers, White Hat placed his free hand on his shoulder. “I hope you understand the danger of this mission you have engaged yourself in...too many heroes have fallen at his hands and I certainly do not want you counted among the many victims. If you ever have the desire to drop-”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but that offer is not necessary.” He chopped White Hat’s sentence. “I thank you for the file, and I will review it, however, I am  _ absolutely not _ dropping this mission. Y/n’s return to their home is my priority now as well as the other assigned obligations, which I  _ will _ fulfill.”

White Hat nodded and removed his hand from Solferno’s stiff, ambitious shoulder.  _ Clearly, his mind is unwavering on this case _ . _ His determination is admirable...but I hope he can keep it in check. _ “Very well then. I will check in on you daily and I expect updates.” He nodded to signal his compliance to White Hat. 

“Oh…!” White Hat shifted his angle and now faced Anne. “Anne, my dear, Dr. Slys wishes to see you.” He offered down a hand to help up out of her seat, being a proper gentleman. 

Anne’s expression suddenly sunk down and her heart dropped down to her lower organs. “...I-I…!” She wasn’t sure what to say or expect.  _ What did I do wrong?!  _

White Hat noticed her hesitation, and tried to comfort her. “Come now...it is rude to stall. I’m sure it will not take long. It’s only a check-up.” 

That only worsened her feelings. 

Kicking herself and internally breaking down into a nervous wreck, she grabbed White Hat’s hand and stood up. 

“There you are! Come, I will walk you.” 

Solferno watched as Anne and White Hat paced away, leaving him terribly curious as to why Anne had to leave, but not to surprised she seemed so intimidated. Dr. Slys is the respected head doctor at the HHLC, and was commonly feared by the other physicians and nurse practitioners. He is not the average “check-up” doctor, so most the time you are called there you aren’t called for a simple “check-up.”

_ Poor Anne… _

 

A new day called for a newly devised plan. Half of your plan from yesterday’s layout didn’t happen, so you decided to save it for another day, but today...you had a new scheme! It was just too perfect to pass up this opportunity: prank calls! No...not just regular old prank calls where you distort your voice to your best ability, applying bad accents and nonsense scenarios. Absolutely not that! 

You were gonna copy other people’s  _ exact voice. _

 

Earlier this morning, as you paced in the basement, staying far from the snoring of the other residents on the floor above. You had been rethinking the events of the other day, playfully mocking the other’s voices and devising a day plan as you float alone unable to rest. 

“I’m not gonna do another song...I need something to get on his nerves today, but not something  _ so  _ bad that he tries to murder me…” You speak to yourself. “I can’t risk him barking and actually snapping me…” 

You feel your eyebrows stitch closer together and you make a Black Hat frown and give a mock voice. “Poltergeist fool! I won’t hesitate to kill you next time!”

I slap my hand over my mouth and my eyes bulge. My voice was raspy and deep much like the eldritch… _.too much _ like the eldritch…

“What’s this?! I don’t talk like that!” You intentionally screeched like Black Hat. Once again shocked, your jaw dropped and you looked around the room frantically, at first believing that  _ he was in the room somewhere.  _ But you couldn’t find him anywhere.

A bit puzzled, you theorized that maybe... _ just maybe _ ...it actually was your voice, and somehow you had the ability to morph your voice to sound exactly like a person you intended.

You cough.  _ Oh my god...what the fuck is happening…?  _

“Ah...t-testing normal?” It was just you. Good ole original y/n voice like you wanted. 

_ Alright...um…What would Flug say?  _ “Th-this is impossible!” 

Nope! It wasn’t. That sounded exactly like Flug.

“ARROO!” You exclaim like 5.0.5. 

“This is incredible…!” You jump up with Dementia's voice.

“Can you imagine all the things you can do with this?” You speak to yourself as though you were your best friend and having an engaging conversation.

“Why yes, yes I can~!” You slide over to the side as though when you used your own vocals you were an entirely new person. “Matter of fact...I have a great idea!” You smile wider than a mischievous opossum.  _ I’ll need to wait until they are all awake though. The phone ringing and voice transition would wake them all... but this is AMAZING! I did not see this ability coming!  _

You throw your head back and give a chilling evil laughter identical to Black Hat’s.  _ Oops...I should probably wait till morning before I make anymore of a racket... _

 

And  _ that  _ is why you are going to go prank call some people! You suppress a giggle. No one here was aware of your new special ability, and you were gonna keep it that way. For a little longer at least. 

_ I’m gonna need to get to Black Hat’s phone in his office though to properly do what I want.  _ You stick your head through the closed menacingly large double doors without a sound. Black Hat doesn’t even notice your small head peering in, as he continues to look at his computer screen and there is the sound of faint music that you couldn’t quite identify playing in the background. 

You stay there trying to devise a way to get him out of his office for a while. Black Hat types away not noticing.  _ Hm, I could use the voice of one of his subordinates, but then they would get suspicious before I can even get to pranking people....Oh, maybe if I go make a mess somewhere els--  _

Your thoughts are interrupted by a low rumble, which you expect to be a growl from the big man of the manor, so as a reaction, you respond by sinking your head slowly out, eyes darting to Black Hat’s face, but it was not what you were expecting. 

The raspy voice behind the desk was carrying a tune, or at least attempting to drag one along with a dark melody.  _ Black Hat is singing…?  _

You blink a bit and pucker your lips, befuddled by the odd adorableness of the situation. Still, Black Hat was oblivious to your presence as he typed and swayed a bit. 

You back out of the office and stand up straight as you try to think of something to get Black Hat out of his office without enraging him too much to the point of him making a scene in the manor. 

_ I can’t just ask him to leave either...that would be foolish.  _ You lean against the door with a huff and defeated feeling.  _ Maybe just wait for him to come out...but that could be hours from now... _ You tap your foot and furrow your brows still determined to think of the right plan.

Quickly, without warning, the double doors clicked open, startling your calm figure. Your shoulders stiffen and your posture resembles that of a board. The tiny lumberjack in your head boomed: “timber!” as you plummeted towards the ground, falling through the door you had been leaning on. 

Eyes still wide and confused, you see Black Hat glaring down at your phantom form, half in the hall, half in his office. “What are you doing, y/n?” He flatly addressed you.

Laughing nervously, you shrug. “¿Que tal? Amo tu voz cantando. Usted es casi un Louis Armstrong natural!” [Sup? I love your singing voice. You are almost a natural Louis Armstrong!] You hope that lightens the denseness, but he continues to serve you the never ending deadpan stare. 

And now was a good time to go and take your leave! You let yourself sink down in retreat. Your legs and lower body obey, but you notice your torso is caught above the floor of Black Hat’s office, stopping you from your quick planned retreat. “¿¡Que es esto?!” [What is this?!] 

Black Hat chuckles at your panic. “You are in my territory, idiot. I control your actions here.” He stepped back inside smiling devilishly at your squirming upper body, and pacing over to his desk to grab something.

You bang on the floor in irritation and your feet, which are on the ceiling of the room below are kicking wildly, though Black Hat cannot see. “¡ Déjame ir! recuerdas lo que sucedió la última vez...!” [Let me go! You remember what happened last time…!] 

He began pacing towards you as you angrily shout out about your trapped self, repeating the words:  “¡ Déjame ir!” 

You hear the distinct click of a button and a digital voice repeat back your words, silencing your tantruming form. “What is this. Let me go. You remember what happened last time. Let me go. Let me go. Let me go.” The robotic voice replayed your spastic freak out monotonically. Another click rang out. 

You hold your eyes on Black Hat’s unamused expression as he held onto your communicator. “Yes, I remember what happened last time. I wasn’t going to go down the route. Not today.” 

“You left this here.” He tossed it down at you and it landed less than a foot from your hand on the ground making you flinch in slight alarm. “I don’t appreciate you leaving behind your frivolous appliances. Next time, I’m just going to burn it, so keep better track of your mess.”   

You blink and stay motionless.  _ He...gave me my communicator back…?  _ “Yo...Yo…” [I...I…] You were unable to form logical sentences, your neurological functions failing you from the mind blowing, undeceiving (some how still a bit rude) act of kindness from the demonic monster of a being. 

“Just take it and get out!” Black Hat impatiently growled. “I don’t have time for your stuttering! Flug gives me enough of that already!”

Messages reading “Y/N.exe has encountered a shocking action and is not responding properly” began popping up all over your dconstructed mind. 

“ _ JUST LEAVE ALREADY! I NEED TO GET BREAKFAST!”  _ Black Hat roared.

Snapping back into your senses, you float up into Black Hat’s office entirely and pick the communicator off the ground. “I-I...I n-need to use the door to leave since this is…” Blanking on the english term, you tap your fist against it, knocking it to indicate the word “solid.” 

“Whatever. Just go.” Black Hat pointed, directing you away. 

You nod and hurriedly zip out and further down the hall, retreating to the shadows. You watch Black Hat leave his office, locking the door, and striding down the opposite end of the hall, proceeding to the kitchen. 

You seep out some air and grasp a firm hold on your communicator.  _ I can’t believe he didn’t destroy this…! More than that, he gave it back! That was almost kind of him, but isn’t he unknowing to such emotions…? What the fuck happened? I THOUGHT I WAS SCREWED! _

_ Alright, alright, alright...calm down.  _ You think to yourself.  _ I need to carry out my mission! It’s the perfect time!  _

You fade into the walkway and drift through the doors, back into the room. As you approach the phone and dig through some cabinets in hope of finding something with a list of his clients’ contact information, something nagged at you, flustering you and dampening your normally gleeful mood while performing your nuisance.  

_ Ugh! I don’t wanna do this now...I lost my motivation… _ You cross your arms and furrow your brow until they were nearly touching each other.  _ Damn it…! It’s because he...he… _ Your conscious wouldn’t let you call his act “nice.” It was too high praise for the deceitful serpent.

You let out a cry of frustration, and unable to carry through with your annoying act for the first time, you sail out of the office and head back down to the basement, silently cursing Black Hat along the way for his act of “almost kindness.” 

 

White Hat escorted the very frightened Anne. She could feel her insides tense and loosen as they approached the door to Slys laboratory. 

White Hat calmly smiled at the girl in an attempt to bring some form of mental ease. “Have no fear, Anne. Slys won’t do anything painful to you, I assure. As I said, it is merely a check-up.” 

Anne shivered and squeezed her arm. “That’s what worries me…” 

White Hat sighed grimly and knocked on the metal door. “I am sorry, Anne...I really am.” He coughed to clear his throat. “Dr. Slys, it’s White Hat. Anne is with me.” 

There was mechanical buzzing inside that came to a halt and heavy footsteps hit the tile of the lab. A dark figure with a paper bag thrown over his head along with reflective goggles and a long black sharp coat with stained red rubber gloves covering his hands came to the door and pulled it open. Having so much hiding himself, his expression was unreadable, but a particular sinister tone was peeking from his vocal. “Anne...good to see you. Come in.” He slid to the side providing her with enough room. 

Anne’s eyes masked terror as she looked back at White Hat. The comforting eldritch had moved back and nodded his head for her to go in, but he was unable to look at her. 

Anne’s hesitated and swallowed, so Dr. Slys grabbed her wrist and tugged her in a bit aggressively. Her mind was blank and she stumbled in, by his side. 

“Slys. Remember what I said before: do not harm anyone.” White Hat sternly reminded. 

“Of course, sir. I intend not to.” He released the door and let it close all the way. “So long as you listen to me.” He said, pulling Anne closer before dragging her over to a small hospital bed in the back. 

His lab was a mysterious, eerie, whimsical place full of unsettling, organized mechanics and detrimental substances. His origins of how he came to work at a hero organization was not only incredibly vague, but also unimaginable to Anne along with the majority of the HHLC members whether they be heroes, scientists, or practitioners. Simply saying “he is feared” is an understatement, for he truly is the epitome of the unknown.

All around them were the sounds of softly ticking gears and quiet bubbling sizzles from chemicals asserted to other “projects” he was working on. The lights in the room were oddly dimmed, adding to Anne’s disturbed feelings. Dr. Slys switched on a luminescent bulb, that lit everything below it with Anne being in the center.

Her skin began to glow metallically under the observation light, and she initially only saw Slys’ prowling silhouette jotting down some notes. Anne gulped and tried to control her shaking. 

Dr. Slys hummed. “I don’t see any noticeable malfunctions so far...minus the intense vibrations. Don’t shake so much. You may feel human emotions, but you are far from it.” 

He grabbed a set off of the nearby table and unzipped it, revealing its pointed contents. Anne could feel her artificial heart pound upon one glance at the objects, but with a concealed grin, he picked up a small chip instead. 

“Now Anne, I need to ask a few questions and insert this disc into you, can you cooperate?” 

Anne nodded twice. It was in her best interest to do nothing but agree with him. It is as he said: she is far from human. Anne was only one of his hundreds of manipulatable creations. However, what set her apart from the other mechanical creations with artificial intelligence was her emotional communication and understanding system, installed where a normal human’s hypothalamus would be located. There are only nine other like her roaming the HHLC. They were artificial family.  

“Excellent.” Dr. Slys’ voice rang deeply. “To start: what all can you tell me of y/n’s location?” 

Anne straightened her posture prepared to be drilled. “Sir, we have not found their coordinates, however, with my calculation system I predict they have a 97.6% chance of being with Black Hat, captured. The other 2.4% goes toward the possibility that they have developing powerful enough paranormal ability to be free range.” 

“Highly unlikely.” Dr. Slys agreed. “Not only from those statistics but there are so few free range entities in the paranormal world.” He paused, fiddling with the chip. “And is the HHLC any closer to finding the damn eldritch?” 

Anne tightened her grip on the edges of the hospital bed. “...No sir. Black Hat’s location is sti--” 

There was a loud bang on the table, shaking the glass and metals on the surface. “How does the son of a bitch stay so hidden!” Slys hissed. 

Anne shifted where she sat. She was used to sudden outburst due to her assisting Dr. Skyles all of the time, but seeing Dr. Slys in this state didn’t make her feel safe at all. 

He straightened his curved spine and he uncannily transfigured the glow of his goggles to darkly calm, slowly adjusting his gaze back to Anne and stepping closer. “Well, it’s not as though I was expecting much better…” 

He circled Anne and watched her form shrink as much as it could. “And tell me...how is Dr. Skyles…? Still looking for that twisted doctor?”

Anne’s eyes turned to saucers as the words fell to her ears. She knew that Slys was the one who had done the experimentation of Dr. Skyles, cause it was planted in her memory board to never let him know, but why was Dr. Slys concerned about that so suddenly... ? 

“He...does not know about it, sir.” 

“I didn’t ask if he knew or not...I asked how he is.” Slys said into her ear as he brushed her hair over her shoulders, causing her to shiver violently. 

“H-he is still bipolar. Not much change.” 

“Good. Let’s make sure it stays like that, hm?” Without a warning, he shoved the chip into the hidden input in her neck near her hairline. “Now time to download. Then you can be on your way.” 

Anne felt a static jolt coarse through her before she fell limp, shutting down.    


	11. Cena en el Señorío

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To any of you following/reading this story, I am so sorry I took so long to update this! I've been really busy between the holiday scrambling and notoriously stressful midterms! >~<   
> But hey, here it is~!

The hours of the day crept across the sky as the clouds painted the stratosphere with acrylic remains of sunlight. You stayed cramped in the basement however, arms crossed and sitting upright, releasing a huff, still a bit salty. 

_ I suppose I will just carry through with that plan tomorrow...but now what am I supposed to do?  _ Black Hat successfully dodged getting pestered and baffled with your new ability, and for some reason it really irked you, getting under your skin, or rather...soul? 

So many emotions in you rose up and decided to protest as you sat with yourself. One of the many negative feelings in you was unidentifiable, but most definitely there, just lingering in a shadow, as the others, such as, bitterness, distaste, and upset, rampaged outside in the open of your mind, making themselves known. What was the sulking feeling waiting in the shadows…? It wanted to emerge but something was holding it back as though there was a particular day and event that would unexpectedly trigger it and unleash it throughout you. Perhaps a new ability, realization, better or worse…? Whatever it was, it was there. 

_ And it’s a bit unsettling.  _

You weren’t too sure about the way this unknown feeling in you was sitting or how it was effecting you...so all that could really be done was to shove it aside and hope it’s nothing too bad. 

_ Right then!  _ You jumped up.  _ That’s enough contemplation! I don’t need to get too lost in my thoughts...I think I should go see how everyone else is doing.  _

Noting the time, you were likely to find someone in the kitchen. You weren’t too sure who, but it would be nice to just see another living person for a moment.

Humming a familiar tune, you skipped through the air all the way to the destination. You notice some of the eyes of the pictures on the wall had begun watching you, tracing and judging you as you paced oddly merrily. You weren’t too alarmed anymore. At first you thought it was your imagination, but after being here almost a week, you kinda figured this was the norm. Probably something involving Black Hat always watching. 

You imagined one of the pictures of Black Hat resembling a regal figure with a voice similar to Roz from Monsters Inc.  _ “I’m watching you, Wazowski. Always watching.”  _ You imitated the same iconic, raspy voice and laughed immediately after. 

You decided to take a more stealthy approach upon entrance since you weren’t too sure who all would or wouldn’t be in. You slid a ghostly leg in first and the rest of your body followed quietly through the wall into the main section above the stove. 

“...” Everyone was there and silent. 

You notice your transparent foot was stepping through a plate of food being held in the hands of none other than the boss of the manor. Everyone was staring at you now. 

_ Whelp...so much for stealthy…  _ “uh…¿Como va, chabón?” [‘Sup, dude.]   __

_ “Get off of my food.”  _ Black Hat growled through his clenched jaw. Hastily you pull your foot away before you lose it. Black Hat made a face of sheer disgust despite you not even  _ really _ touching his food. You just went  _ through  _ the food.

Black Hat stuck his hand out to the side and shoved the plate of food at the cyan bear. “Here, this is your serving now that it has been soiled by the filth of that bloody poltergeist.” Some crumbs fell off the plate as 5.0.5. had to snatch the glass plate from his master’s hands before it hit the ground. 

You exaggerated the movement of your eye roll and floated away from the stove, so Black Hat could serve himself. 

_ Well at least he’s the same as before...I was worried he’d be acting nice.  _ Admittedly, it was odd for you to be grateful Black Hat was being an asshole, but something about him being kind worried you more. 

Flug and Demencia were already seated and had supper next to them. That’s when something finally struck you as bizarre.

“¿Flug, todos ustedes comen juntos?” [Flug, you all eat together?] You ask as he finished a bite of his meal and wiped the residue off the corner of his lip. 

He coughed into the napkin before looking up and nodding. “Yes that’s right. We eat together some days, but not everyday. Black Hat likes to keep things more formal around here.” 

Demencia, still smacking on her food looked to you with wide eyes and jumped happily in her seat. “Hey y/n, mi ghosty compadre~!” She roughly spainglished making you cringe. “Oh! Are you gonna join us for formal supper? That is so cool! That means now everyone everyone can join us for supper and not just everyone!” 

You smile and try not to make your wrinkled nose seem obvious.  _ Everyone everyone and not just everyone...what does that mean??  _

“Hey babe! Please say you are letting y/n join us for supper! I’ll give you a big ki-” 

“Firstly!” Black Hat suddenly appeared leaning in her face with a scowl for intimidation. “I am not ‘babe’ I am ‘Black Hat.’” Demencia cackled nervously and tried to capture him in her arms for a hug, not too phased by his sudden closeness, but he quickly backed away, straightening his posture and grimacing. “Secondly, I did not invite them in here and I certainly did not give them my consent to walk all over my food.”

_ Oh really? You’re gonna bitch about that?  _ You roll your eyes silently again. Black Hat’s figure seemed to tick with a sudden jolt in his shoulders, but almost as quickly as the jolt shot through, he eased back. 

Recomposing himself, Black Hat rolled his neck and adjusted his collar before releasing a drawn sigh of slight irritation. “ _ If _ y/n wants to stay in here for supper they may... _ but _ …” He turned around to face you, full of unreadable suppressed emotions. “...the moment you think you can do as you please at  _ my _ table…” A sharp talcon rose and you got the point, nodding quickly as you take a seat. 

Black Hat’s scowl deepened. “That’s  _ MY SEAT!”  _ He barked like a dog on his property, shooing you up and away. Before he gnashed his teeth a second time, you picked yourself up and soared over to the empty spot next to 5.0.5. 

The cute bear grinned and his flower perked up. You can’t help but smile too. At least he isn’t scared of you as he was before.

Black Hat, formal as ever, brushed the imaginary specks of dirt from his neatly tailored suit, straightened his tie, and he sat with his neutral deadpan frown. Promptly, he picked up utensils and dug in, joining everyone else. 

You noticed from these past days that you didn’t really need food, because you were not in your normal body. There was one time you attempted to eat a piece of toast, but it had slid right through your body and didn’t hold well, unless you commanded it to stay in. Even then though, it did not digest, and you had to remove it by actually grabbing it and taking it out. 

Many of your bodily functions had changed of had a lack of presence, not just the digestive system: the urinary, respiratory, nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, immune, endocrine, and most definitely noticeable, the exocrine and skeletal systems. You weren’t too sure about the reproductive system, but you imagined that changed as well. 

“Ghosty?” Demencia pulled you back from your ranting thoughts. 

Your head snapped up and looked to her. “Ah...yes…?”

“Ok cool! They’re still with us!” She chirped. You would have blushed from slight embarrassment if you had the right system. 

“Anyway, like I was sayin’,” Demencia continued with the conversation you hadn’t heard. “You are all over the news y/n!” 

Your eyes widened. You hadn’t really thought about your situation too much in depth so you wouldn’t worry very much. “¿Yo...estoy…?” [I...am…?] 

Demencia held out a copy of a wrinkled newspaper to you, and you picked it from her hands, unraveling it from the ball. 

In big words at the top was: **Black Hat Returns!** The subtitle below stating: _ Suspected Suspended Animation Ray created and in the hands of the world’s most notorious super villain!  _ You continue scanning over the report and find your name embedded in a paragraph: 

 

_ Y/n L/n is the first victim of their kind, being struck directly with the Suspended Animation Ray. Their body was recovered from the rumble of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with minor injuries, but in a coma like state. According to Dr. Skyles, head doctor of y/n’s case at the Heroibus Hospitalization and Laboratory Center (HHLC), “y/n is alive at the moment, whether they will recover from this coma is entirely dependant upon the research we scavenge from our search parties. For now, I cannot provide a definite answer.” The family and friends of l/n pray for their life and recovery.  _

_ “Our doctors and researchers are doing all they can to save their life.” White Hat, head of the HHLC explains. “We have a hero on y/n’s case and we have several heros scoping over major cities and high populated areas every hour, nationwide. Black Hat will not succeed with such an attack again.”  _

 

“Bullshit.” Black Hat said from over your shoulder. You jumped, startled by the sudden interjection. You hadn’t noticed that he was standing over you. 

He returned to his seat promptly with a snap of his fingers and spoke with a relaxed appearance. “White Hat is an utter buffoon. He knows far too well that if I want to strike again, I could take out all of his men, women, heros, doctors, and then some. He is only saying that so the public won’t panic.” He waved his hand nonchalantly.

You could barely hear Black Hat though as you continue reading, mouth slightly gaping. This is what has been happening since you left: your body is with the HHLC, the doctor in charge of you is someone named Dr. Skyles, your family is desperately worried, researchers are scrambling for investigative information, and…

Something in your mind hooked and sank. You recalled the letters and documents in the basement and the relation of Black Hat and White Hat Flug told you in the basement before. “White Hat…?” 

Black Hat naturally tensed hearing the name. You set the paper aside and lock eyes with him. “¿Tu hermano es tu peor enemigo?” [Your brother is your worst enemy?] 

Black Hat glared blankly not knowing what you just said, but growled anyway from hearing the name ‘White Hat’ in front of your spanish. “Flug! Translate!” He snapped in the doctor’s face. 

Flug dropped the food on his utensil and he began to stutter and click his teeth, not expecting to be addressed. “Oh! Uh, s-sir, I mean…! Yes, uh...they said, ‘Is your brother…” Flug stopped and turned over to you with wide eyes. You blink at him unsure of what the big deal is.

“Well?! Is he what?” Black Hat slapped Flug’s senses back with a thundering boom. “...is your...b-brother...your w-worst enemy…?” Immediately he held his hands up to his shoulders in a surrendering position. After all, he was just the translator. 

Black Hat’s eye was a piercing slit. His head turned slowly over to you. You shifted uncomfortably almost ready to descend to the basement. Ever since the time in the basement you found the photo albums you were just curious and wanted some answers, but  _ maybe _ straight up asking was not the right way to approach the matter. 

“Yes. He is.” Black Hat hissed out. “Leader of the HHLC, Commander-in-Chief of all the blasted bloody heros residing in this country. Of course he’s my nemesis, you imbecile.”

“O-oh…” You nod once very carefully. 

He sustained his glaring expression and he growled. “And  _ why _ did you  _ assume  _ he was my brother…?” 

_ Shit. Did I say brother…?  _ “Uh…” You coughed and try to speak in english so Flug won’t have to restate your words. “What you mean…? I did no say that.” You cross your arms trying to play it off seeing as you had said the statement in spanish, and he didn’t understand your language. You really didn’t want Black Hat to find out you had been snooping around viewing fragments of his past. Who knows how he’d react to  _ that!  _

Unamused, Black Hat blinked once at the speed of sloth. “Really?” He crossed his arms right back at you and frowned in distaste. “Flug translated exactly what you said. Did they not say ‘brother?’” He turned quickly to Flug sounding off with low rumbles wanting some answers. 

Your eyes pleaded desperately to Flug.  _ Come on, Flug…! Don’t rat me out!  _ You begged in your mind, almost falling to your knees. You lying to Black Hat would only make him more pissed, and you were positive  _ no one _ wanted to see him like that tonight. 

“I-I-I…!” Flug’s pupils darted to you and the nervous look of 5.0.5. and even Demencia. “W-well s-sir...n-n-no...I-I uh...said it in-incorrectly! Th-they actually said…” He struggled to think of something else quickly. “Hermann! Arminius Hermann! That’s w-what they said, not hermano: Hermann.” He sealed his eyes shut. It was a bad coverup. 

You couldn’t leave him hanging. “iSí! ¿Es Hermann tu peor enemigo?” [Yes! Is Hermann your worst enemy?] 

“Th-they assumed that since he is a hero they would be under White Hat’s control!” Flug continued nodding. He turned his head over to you and said some improvised words like unmemorized words from a playwright. “B-but he’s not under White Hat’s control because Hermann is a German hero.”

“ ¡Ya veo! mi error, lo siento mucho.” [I see! My mistake, so sorry.] You play along. “Creo que solo pensé que estaría-” [I guess I just thought he would be-]

Black Hat held up a silencing hand. He wasn’t buying it and you could very obviously tell. “You don’t think I know who Arminius Hermann is? He  was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe who famously led an allied coalition of Germanic tribes to a decisive victory against three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest all the way back in 9 AD and  was hailed by nationalists as a symbol of German unity, freedom, and  celebrated as a national hero.  I may never had spoken to him but  _ of course I know _ .  _ Do you think I am so gullible as to believe this pitiful lie?!”  _

Demencia, 5.0.5., Flug, and you exchanged slightly frightened, dumbfounded, and impressed glances. You honestly had no idea who Flug had referred to; you just went with it. 

_ Well...someone has reviewed his German History... _

Black Hat exhaled and pinched the area where the bridge of his nose would be if he had a nose. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not a huge secret anyway….but don’t you  _ EVER  _ say the name  _ White Hat  _ and  _ brother  _ in the same sentence again.” He spat out the titles and finished up the last of his meal, pushing his plate away. 

You nodded quickly and sat ridgid with a bit of stun.That was probably the best he could brush the conversation off without throwing anything. He was composing himself rather well tonight for being lied to and hearing his brother’s name. 

Silence rained down and everything was a bit awkward now. Flug tugged on the collar of his shirt as though he was overheating even after the chaos had died down. More than anything, he was surprised he didn’t get kicked in the ass for lying and trying to cover you. It was as though Black Hat was taking it upon himself to behave more presentable and well mannered. That or he was too tired to bother. It was most likely option two. 

“BAROO?” 5.0.5. stuck out his paws, asking for the empty plates to which they accumulated in his grasp quickly. The kind fluffball stood and went to put everything in the sink to wash by hand (or paw, rather) later.

Demencia broke the mute air. “Anyway, like I was  _ going to say _ earlier before that  _ previous conversation _ ,” Everyone looked to her, even Black Hat peered his slitted eye. “Y/n’s body is at the HHLC!” 

“Good to know.” Black Hat flatly said. “Let’s go over there tomorrow and force them back inside their weaker shell and  _ finally _ get  _ rid _ of them.”  

_ Ouch...I’m right here.  _

Before Flug could interject with his finger in the air and Black Hat’s attention captured, Demencia jumped up on her seat wearing the face of a panicked animal. “WHAT!? NO!!! YOU DIDN’T LET ME FINISH! I meant, we can break into the HHLC, snatch up their body, and have Flug reattach their body and soul with some incredible whatchmadiggy so they can stay here with us forever and be happier!”

Black Hat and you simultaneously split out in shock and Flug nearly choked on his last bit of food. 5.0.5. looked confused since he didn’t fully understand Dementia's proposal. 

“What…? Why are all of you looking like that?”

“Because the proposal is absolutely idiotic! Why would I want this bloody nuisance to stay!?” Black Hat shot his index finger to you. “ _ I don’t want them here! _ ” 

You stuck out your tongue at Black Hat to which he boiled up, but didn’t make any moved to pounce. 

“L-look...Demencia...y/n has a-a family still and people who w-want them to return home...it would be b-bad to keep them here.” Flug tried to explain in softer terms.

Demencia remained puzzled. “...But we are bad guys…”

“W-well yes, but-” 

“I th-think what Flug is saying…” You chop yourself in, considering the conversation is based off of you and returning. Demencia was trying to be kind since she saw you as a friend of her’s now, but still...you had so much more you were unwilling to let go of. 

“Yo no..I c-can’t stay here. I have family that I l-love and I am…” You wanted to slam your head on the table for blanking on english especially at a time like this.  _ Ugh! What’s the right words…?! _

“...I-I am...no good to the Black Hat orgasm.”

“...”

_ Why is no one speaking and everyone looking at me like this…? _

“¿Que?” [What?] You notice Black Hat’s mortified face of disgust.

“i¿Que?!” 

“I uh...I-I uh th-think the um...the word you are looking for is ‘organization’ y/n…” Flug whispered. 

_ Oh shit. What did I say..?  _

“I KNEW IT!” Demencia lounged at you from across the table and began chasing you around the kitchen like a rabid raccoon.

“¡¿Qué dije?!” [What did I say?!] You frantically scramble to the air and shout down and over to Flug. “¡FLUG! ¡¿QUÉ DIJE?! [FLUG, WHAT DID I SAY!?] 

You just got through with Demencia trying to murder you, so you thought, and now it rose back up from something you accidentally said.  _ Damn, did I really say something so bad?! _

5.0.5. ducked for cover as you darted around and Demencia followed like a persistent, rampaging tornado. Demencia was cursing you, saying how maybe they  _ should _ just bring you to the HHLC and leave you there. You still had no idea what you said.

Black Hat looked unamused now and released a sigh. “Idiots. Idiots everywhere.” 

The timid doctor stayed shaking in his seat. “U-uh...They just have a small p-problem with remembering english words s-sometimes, si-” 

“ _ I know that, Flug _ .” Black Hat hissed. “Just let Demencia chase foolishly for now so I leave and not be annoyed by either of the two.” He sat up and straightened his nice jacket. 

Something popped into Black Hat’s mind and he gazed back to his scientist. “And, Flug…” Said man’s attention refocused in a snap. 

Black Hat popped his neck, moved closer to Flug, looming over him, and growled ominously, octaves deeper. “Do  _ not _ give that poltergeist anymore information about White Hat or  _ anything _ pertaining to  _ my personal life _ .  _ Do I make myself clear…? _ ” 

Flug squeezed his eyes shut and braced for impact of a swing. This is why he didn’t want to tell y/n something as simple as the fact White Hat was Black Hat’s brother, but what was he supposed to do in the moment back there? Much to his relief Black Hat leaned back up and paced away, not bruising him and peculiarly, not even grabbing, shaking, or any other form of physical abuse to get his point across. He simply let it as it was said. 

Flug didn’t try to think about it too much though; he needed to stop you and Demencia from capsizing the manor. 

“Hey, 5.0.5., can you lend me a hand in stopping those two?” He stuck out his thumb in the general direction of chaos. 

5.0.5. happily nodded quickly and made a gleeful bear noise, always pleased to help where he could. 

“Right then, let go.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also for anyone wondering about how Black Hat knew so much about good ole Arminius Hermann, here's the informational source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminius  
> Yup, Wikipedia. That's how XD (I couldn't recall that much of him from my history class some years back...)


	12. Fuera de Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanna apologize for me not updating this in a while. (like almost a month!) Between my finals and holiday business I just didn't get on top of it. Yatta yatta yatta...here's the chapter~!

“Alright, y/n, now say it back to me.” Flug said to you like a preparatory school teacher.

“Organization.” 

“Perfect!” He looked back over at Demencia who was kicking and fidgeting around in 5.0.5.’s grip. “You hear that, Demencia? That’s what they meant to say. Understand? Organization; not that other word.”

Demencia let out a huff. “Fine! Now put me down!” She yelled in the cyan bear’s face. Surprised, 5.0.5. released her and she fell to the ground without anymore fight. 

You were grateful Flug and 5.0.5. stepped in when they did, but you still weren’t too sure what you did to trigger the sudden outburst. Tugging on Flug’s sleeve you asked, “Flug,  ¿Qué dije?” [Flug, what did I say?]

Flug turned and you could tell his expression cringed under the bag. Demencia was staring at Flug to see what he was going to say to you as well, though she didn’t understand the first part stated in spanish. Flug rubbed his neck and switched to spanish. “Well, uh...b-básicamente dijiste que no eras bueno para el orgasmo de Black Hat…” [Well, uh...b-basically you said you were no good for Black Hat’s orgasm.]

If ghosts could blush you were positive without a doubt you would be a deep crimson color. 

“WHAT?!” Demencia screeched only hearing the word “orgasmo.” “FLUG! YOU TOO!” 5.0.5. caught her mid pounce and she began to thrash around again.

“Demencia! NO!” Flug shouted flustered and a bit annoyed by her selective eavesdropping. “I was trying to tell y/n what they said in spanish so they don’t go off saying the same thing in english again!”

Demencia loosened and she was dropped again. “Oh….uh, sorry I guess?” She said with a shrug. “I can’t be too careful though. None of you are allowed to touch  _ my _ bae. HE’S  _ MY _ BAE!!!” She switched to a shouting and growling voice as she defensively gnashed her teeth. You took two steps back out of concern. Flug didn’t step back, but he flinched. Maybe he had gotten used to her outburst a bit more than you had?

“Alright Demencia! Calm down!” Flug said almost commandingly. “It was a simple accident. No hard feelings?”

She glanced at you and squinted her eyes in thought and quickly smiled broadly. “Nah! I can’t stay mad at mi compadre!” You internally cringed when she said that in her bad spanish. You were kinda wishing she would just not butcher the words. It was starting to physically hurt.

Everything began to die down shortly after and you drifted down to the basement, flopping on the couch. You thought about what mischief you could compose tomorrow; you knew first thing in the morning you were going to do the prank calls, preferably before Black Hat got to his office, but then there was still a whole the whole left to kill!

_ Hm...I could do something simple...hide pencils…? That’s pretty annoying. Although, maybe if I duct tape Black Hat’s cane to the ceiling...no, that’d be too much for him. I should do that one day though… _

You let your mind wander from every region of the brain to collect ideas not letting one thought creep by. Then, an older idea pushes its way through the flood of suggestion. The proposition rose to surface with the help of a particular object resting on the small coffee table. 

“¡El álbum de fotos!” [The photo album!] 

You almost forgot you wanted to leave that in Black Hat’s office so that he would look through it or at least glance at it. You were now  _ certain _ that something about White Hat  _ obviously _ peeved him, maybe something even more than him working for the organization of heroes that was entirely against his ways. You thought back to supper, remembering how Heroibus is actually searching for  _ you _ . Your mind wants to go on another train of disbelief, but you cancelled that ticket before it was punched, picking up the book and standing. 

_ This should annoy him or maybe make him remember something...not sure, but this is important.  _ You flip open the first page where the flat letter still rested looking aged and ignored, signed with Black Hat’s brother’s name. Has the letter been completely dejected you ponder. Did Black Hat ever actually reply? 

_ Ugh. There my mind goes again...getting into deep little rampages… _ You shrug. Your racing mind wasn’t going to answer the questions you had and most certainly would not get this book on Black Hat’s desk. 

_ Going up~!  _

You ascend past the top of the basement and float to the first floor. 5.0.5. was in the room, but hadn’t identified you yet, so you crept away to avoid giving him a heart attack. Once a decent distance down the long and dreary hallway, you pick up the pace. You didn’t like how the portraits normally followed you. Oddly though, the eyes of the paintings surrounding you  _ were not _ staring you down.  _ Hm...what’s that supposed to mean?  _

You thought about how Black Hat was “always watching everyone in the house” and assumed the portrait was how he did it, but what does it mean when he’s not watching? Was he asleep maybe? That would make things much easier on you. 

You peek your head into his office. Lights were off and his head was down on his desk, like a child snoozing in class. Blue light from the computer screen reflected on his skin, almost making him look ethereal. He seemed calm and tranquil, no scowl on his face whatsoever. He looked like a different person almost. You slipped in completely, eyes not leaving the slumbering figure. 

_ He seems so...innocent. For an evil tyrannical, planet destroying, despicably wicked, horribly twisted and ugly eldritch. _

You advance towards the desk with some caution. Even if he was asleep, you worried he might wake and do some freaky horror shit like when the dead person opens their eyes and tries to rip your soul in two. You didn’t step too close to Black Hat; you drifted just enough to reach your arms out and lightly place the book down. Gradually, you let go of your grip and slowly let your hands fall to the side. Black Hat didn’t even flinch. You sigh in relief and smile successfully.  _ Easy~! _

You turn around and prepare to sink down into the ground. You were done for the night and everyone was going to be snoozing soon enough so it was time you took your leave to you private quarters. And you reached a problem. 

You weren’t sinking down. 

You gulp as you stand on the solid ground below. The only time you couldn’t leave was when Black Hat was conscious and holding you inside his office. You stood a bit paralyzed and stiff knowing without any words said you were caught. You nervously let out a squeak intended to be a small laughed. 

“Jajajaja...Me tienes…!” [Hahahaha...you got me…!] You playfully made small jazz hands, still not daring to turn around.

“I thought you wouldn’t try doing something like this today...I suppose I was wrong.” Black Hat’s voice behind you said in a grump. He almost seemed disappointed about something. 

You decided it was safe to face him without being attacked by violent words and venom claws. “¿Por qué piensas eso?” [Why would you think that?]

Black Hat groaned. “I don’t understand your annoying Spanish dialect, you fool.” He reminded you.

Immediately you realize you had been speaking spanish. “Oh, ah...yes.” You nod. He rolled his eyes.  _ What? I didn’t say anything wrong….I just wanna know why you would think that. _

“Since you are so nosy, I was running an experiment of my own so to say, and I see my hypothesis was incorrect.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat. “...To see if small acts of….kindness...would steer you away from your pathetic annoyances….” Black Hat mumbled the whole phrase but spat the word “kindness” harshly like it was physically harmful. 

_ Oh...is that why he gave me my communicator back earlier and resisted strangling me all day?  _ You didn’t appreciate the fact he read your mind, but now some of his actions were beginning to make more sense. But where did he get that idea?

He huffed and looked down at what you placed down on his desk previously. He looked a bit confused and opened the book carefully as though you were able to engineer a spring that would slam a pie in his face upon opening.  _ Hm, that’s not a bad idea actually… _

“...What?” Black Hat said bewildered down on the first open page. “What is this? A joke?” He glared at you. “This is pathetic.” 

You blinked.  _ He doesn’t even know what it is…!?  _ “I-it’s from you brother!” You messed up your english a bit because you were a bit surprised. 

Black Hat skeptically looked at the handwriting, hand tapping his chin. A dim light went off in his head. “Oh, yes. I remember this.” He picked it up with one hand, extended his arm to the side and dropped it in the wastebasket. “Meant to throw it out. Thanks.” 

You gaped and your hand reached for it, but suddenly a fire blazed from the inside and settled back down. “There. Now it is gone. I didn’t even know it was still down in the basement.” You continued to just stare in a bit of disbelief, though you should have seen it coming. Black Hat, smug with himself and pleased with the expression on your face, grinned widely. 

“B-but...why?” 

“Because. You know nothing of my relation with White Hat and it is best you keep it so. Heroibus will never find you here.” Black Hat sneered folding his hands together. “White Hat is…” He stopped himself from saying anymore and instead popped his neck joint. “Get out. Now.” 

You look down in some defeat peering into the trash can that disintegrated your “grand plan.” But before you turn away completely something caught your eye and you freeze with a glint of hope.

“Levantar!” [Lift up!] You order the object in the basket. As soon as you casted out your hand and spoke your order, Black Hat, unsure of what you were doing, jumped up and sprung tentacles from his back, hissing. You ignored him. 

Out from the ashes of trash rose a single page of images from the album along with a note. You gasped.  _ Did I...save them? _

Black Hat snarled and growled like a wild animal. “ _ What are you DOING!? PUT THAT BACK NOW!”  _ Clearly, he hadn’t predicted this move of yours and was above all else confused as to how that happened. He looked ready to pounce. 

You looked between him and the pictures. Then back again. This was the last of the photos that remained, and you hadn’t seen these photos yet. More forth...Black Hat hadn’t known you could do that...heck, you didn’t know you could do that either! You just saved some of the pictures from a sad fiery demise!

Part of you urged yourself to just put it down and get out of there…

...But there was that mysterious emotion in the back of your mind again. The one just like earlier: it stood out from every other, mysteriously just watching for it’s perfect moment to come forth and take over. 

Without thinking, you  _ smiled _ . 

Broadly.

Menacingly. 

As though you were  _ in control  _ now.

“You want this…?” There it was again...like the time before when you beat Black Hat:  _ you were speaking perfect english without trying…! _ “Come and take it from me~” You rose your hand higher above your head and the photos rose closer to the roof.

“Don’t play games with me, y/n... _ I will tear you to shreds _ .” Black Hat’s tentacles stiffened but his shoulders seemed to get less tense. 

You certainly didn’t want a repeat of last time, but for some reason, though you were in control...you felt  _ out of control.  _

“Well...why don’t you come over here and try that, hm? If you are  _ the great Black Hat _ you claim to be shouldn’t you have already gotten rid of me?  _ I think your soft… _ ” 

_ HOLY HELL! THAT ISN’T ME!  _ You thought inside yourself.  _ What am I doing? This isn’t what I want!  _

You locked yourself in place from fear of what was going on. You smiled devilishly on the outside and your subconscious screamed in panic. 

Black Hat began to approach you. 

_ That’s it...I’m dead! I was asking to be killed! _

He growled, sharp fangs flashing in your sight.

You still wouldn’t move. Even though he was right there. You kept the same stupid grin on your face unwillingly as you cried on the inside for mercy... _ but there was none in the heart of this demonic beast-- _

**_SLAP!_ **

Black Hat’s back hand smacked into your cheek and left a defined sting. Your head spun to the side 90 degrees and the smile wiped clean off with it. Both your cheeks burned. You felt them burning. As though you were in your regular body again. Something was rolling down your cheek...Water? Blood? Both? Whatever it was it wasn’t on your poltergeist body. It must be on your real body. Somewhere off in Heroibus. Still connected to you, but so distant. 

“Get a hold of yourself, y/n. Don’t make me repeat myself.” Black Hat said inching close to your face and hissing with a snake like sound. 

Seconds blurred together and you felt yourself collapse to the floor, not passing through, but falling to the ground in a pile at Black Hat’s feet. 

You hurt. All over. But pain left you at the same time... Some darkness that wrapped around your being was hit away in the single blow so all that was left was the soreness...but no pain. 

The pictures from the slip of the page you saved floated down to the ground to join you in a heap and the note drifted slowly after. Quivering, you stretch out a shaking hand to grab it, but you fall limp; immobilized, but still conscious. 

Black Hat’s shoe steps on the letter and pins it down. “ _ Learn to control your impulses, or they will control you. _ ” He swept the paper back across the floor, tearing it as he walked away and out of the office, leaving you in a heap. You didn’t see him go, but the door clicked behind him lightly.

_ … _

_ What is this? What was I doing? Why did Black Hat smack me instead of kill me?  _

_ Did he...help me…?  _

_ … _

_...What is happening to me? _

 

“Sir! Dr. Skyles, sir! This is an emergency!” 

Dr. Skyles bolted up out his seat as his part time nurse alerted him. “What is it?”

“Y/n...Y/n L/n! They’re bleeding! And crying!” He frantically said in between deep panicked breathes. 

Dr. Skyles immediately bolted to the room, pushing anything in his way out of the way. “How did this happen!?” He yelled irritated and with ever growing worry.   
“I-I-I...well, I-I’m-”

“ _ SPEAK CLEARLY _ !” Skyles snapped. 

“I don’t know! I was giving them their PN and their cheek suddenly puffed up red with claw marks running across and soon after, though their body didn’t flinch, they began to cry!” The nurse tripped over his own feet and struggled to keep up with Skyles. 

Skyles bursted open the door and there were already three other people present. “Get out of my way!” He shouted. Two of the practitioners jumped back but the other man did nothing but stare. “I said mov-” 

Skyles jerked the man’s shoulder but stopped abruptly. “Wh-white Hat! Sir…! I apologize! I just-”  

“Black Hat…” He whispered, gaze still fixed on the bloody claw marks running across y/n’s cheek. “Black Hat has y/n...he’s abusing them.” 

Everything stayed motionless for a second. Skyles’ lungs had even ceased movement. Something clicked inside of White Hat and it was terrifying to the others. He was upset. Very upset.

White Hat suddenly was glaring and shook his head in disgust. “Y/n is trapped inside Black Hat’s manor. We must locate the manor and attack.  _ Bring y/n back here as soon as possible! _ ” With a swift turn he paced out of the room tapping his cane on the floor all the way down the hall, angry clicking of his shoes leaving the others in y/n’s room to treat them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again: thank you for your patience! I'm gonna try to keep on top of things I swear! (but you know, school and grades come first for me)   
> I hope this is still keeping everyone's interest~


	13. "Id"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey! I'm back just as promised! :D   
> As for the three request for One Shot fics, I am working on those along with the next chapters. I do hope you enjoy~!

“Flug! Wake up!” Black Hat charged into the lab not bothering to knock. 

The poor sleeping scientist had drifted away as he was working on his latest project. As soon as the soundwaves of Black Hat’s voice reached his ears though he stuttered awake. “S-sir!” 

“The poltergeist is turning savage and is laying in my office. Attend to them now!” He roared not wasting a moment of time. 

Flug bounced up a bit confused, but there was no time to interrogate Black Hat.  _ Y/n is going savage? What does that mean?? Why are they in Black Hat’s office? What’s going on?? _ Flug sped down the hallway with Black Hat sprinting closely behind him, much to his surprise. Black Hat seemed...concerned? 

Flug supposed Black Hat just wanted the poltergeist out of his office. 

“S-sir...how-” 

“Don’t question, Flug. Just get the bloody ghost out of my office and treat them accordingly!” He snapped angrily. 

Flug nodded and continued, letting the door fly open from the push of his hands. His eyes went right to the transparent figure crumpled on the ground. “Oh stars! What happened here…!” Flug scrambled to the ground next to you and noticed how easily it was to touch your hand; he wasn’t passing through, meaning you were either willing to be treated or not in control. It could be either or.

In your case, it was both. 

“I have numbed them temporarily. They cannot move. At this point I don’t know if y/n is in their right state of mind.” Black Hat informed the kneeling doctor. 

Flug noted that still checking you for any damage. He had never given first aid to a ghost so he wasn’t sure exactly  _ what  _ he was expected to do. “I-I...uh, s-sir...what am I supposed to be, um...d-doing…?” He stuttered shakily. 

Black Hat gritted his teeth, glaring like it was obvious. “Help them, you idiot! Get them out of my office, into your lab, check them for sanity, and fix this!” He shouted like he cared, but Flug knew he just wanted them out. 

Flug nodded quickly and got to it. He picked you up, cradling you in his arms, and headed back to the office. You hardly weighed a thing.

You rested in Flug’s arms, conscious but unable to communicate. Probably because Black Hat had numbed you. 

_ It’s all confusing...I’m not sure what is happening to me, but it seems Black Hat thinks I’m...changing? Not in my right state of mind?  _ You pondered your peculiar behavior in your own mind..

You thought of the dark thought that was vague and foreign in your mind. You hadn’t noticed it until you became a poltergeist. That _ had  _ to be the cause of this. Somehow...

Flug placed you down carefully onto a cot in his lab, Black Hat still looking down at you behind him. 

“N-now sir...I kn-know you may not want to tell me, but I n-need to know what--” 

“Y/n got snoopy with my past and I didn’t appreciate it, so I burnt the album my brother gave me and somehow they were able to save a slip of paper from the book. After doing so, their manner completely shifted as though their poltergeist instincts began taking over their mind, so I slapped and numbed them to stop them from meaninglessly attacking like an idiot.” Black Hat blurred out everything without hesitation. 

Flug was a bit stunned at how Black Hat responded so hastily. “O-oh...ok.” Flug turned back over to you. There were straps on the side of the cot that he buckled around your figure and tightened. He silently moved across the floor leaving you be. 

_ What is he doing? Why is he holding me down?  _ It wasn’t like you could move anyway, but it rose general concern. Black Hat stood still with his arms behind his back. He was still glaring over between you and the doctor. 

Flug began walking back with a giant needle in one hand. 

_ Well, fuck that!  _ You didn’t like having substances injected into you.  _ Especially NOT _ with a giant ass needle like that. 

Despite your restraints from Black Hat, you were able to turn your head away and squeeze your eyes shut, but you didn’t run away. This was probably for the best...but you hated the thought of it. 

Flug flinched back in sudden surprise. “I-I thought they were-” 

“They are. But that doesn’t mean they can’t move around slightly when their will to power increases.” Black Hat rolled his eyes. He assumed that would have been a clear explanation to the scientist.  

Flug tilted his head to the side and looked down to where you laid. “Oh...I take it you don’t like needles then, y/n?” Flug gently spoke to you. 

You heard him step closer though your eyes were shut. You would have been shaking more if you weren’t being contained. You didn’t bother nodding. Obviously he could tell. 

“I promise this won’t hurt. It’s just something to aid your sanity. I’ve never...injected this into a ghost though, so…” He looked over at the boss. “I can give them this, but I’ve never--” 

“ _ I heard you the first time! Just do it! _ ” Black Hat hissed impatiently. “We don’t have time to count all the risk and I can’t hold them steady forever! I have things to do.” 

Flug jolted and nodded quickly. He turned back over, his attention fully on you. “You may feel a little sting, ok?” He informed you in a low voice. His tone of voice wasn’t threatening, but his pitch seemed to change to one more sinister...as though he secretly did this more often. That did not make you feel any less tense. The only reason you didn’t seem worried was because Black Hat was numbing your muscles. 

You waited for the impact...but you never felt it come. 

“All done!” Flug said patting you on the back twice. 

Why hadn’t you felt it? 

“Good.” Black Hat said. Immediately you felt the pressure holding you down release you, and the stinging on your arm became noticeable. You sat up in alarm, despite the straps that were “holding you back.” 

_ So Black Hat numbed out the initial sting of the shot too…  _ You concluded.

Flug jumped, surprised by your quick resurrection. “Y/n! Are you alright?” 

You sat there looking down, not responding and trying to get a grip of your racing heart and quick, panicky breathes. 

“Why don’t you explain what they are going through, Dr. Flug?” Black Hat said with a tense sounding voice, growling at the scientist as though Flug was supposed to know to do that immediately. 

“Y-yes!” He almost tripped over his quaking legs. “W-well...y-y/n...um..” Flug gulped nervously and then pulled up a chair next to where I sat on the patient bed. “I-I believe what the boss wants me to explain is...poltergeist id….?” 

He turned back over to Black Hat to see if that was the correct category. Black Hat’s glare intensified with a small hiss of “hurry up.” Flug quickly looked away from the threatening figure knowing he was right on target. 

You remained still and seated, your breathes slowing down and beginning to level themselves. You felt the racing in your chest calm and the sting in your arm prominently, but slowly it all began to fade away until you didn’t feel anything. 

“There is something in all living beings called the id. It’s a psychological term for the pleasure principle or the first instinct in us all. Think about it like...” He paused to think of an example and you stared at him trying to follow along with the new word being introduced. His fingers snapped in thought. 

“Let’s say you have a really hard formula you need to solve for this very big invention that is due tomorrow. If you don’t complete the invention perfectly by tomorrow there will be consequences, but you still don’t understand the formula entirely and you can’t perfect it for some reason.” He looked up at you to be sure you were following along. You nodded slowly kind of understanding the situation. 

“Now, let’s say another scientist is working exceptionally hard on the exact same invention you are and he is ahead of you because he has the formula and all he has to do is apply it. If you lose to him, you are sunk.” He used an exaggeration with hand motions and you continued to slowly nod. 

“But now let’s say he dropped his perfected formula out of his pocket or left it on a lab counter and he left, but is going to come back later...What do you want to do?” 

You blinked a few times as you realized he was specifically asking the question to you. You thought for a moment but he interrupted. 

“Don’t think of it. Just say.”

“ Tómalo.”  [Take it.] You blurred out. 

“Exactly. That is the instinct of the id. You act quickly without any moral thoughts or any input from your super ego.” 

“The super ego controls your morals or rather what you think is the right thing to do. Given the fact that the scientist I mentioned is under the same restrictions as you, he has worked longer hours and harder, and he has given his all to finding that formula and if he doesn’t have it he will suffer the consequences you have to suffer if you fail...what is the right thing to do?”     

“... Devolvérselo.” [...Give it back to him.]

Flug nodded as you gave the correct answer. His face looked grim for a moment, but that wiped away quickly.

“And lastly of the three, there is the ego; the decision maker. The ego is the balance between the super ego and the id. It is the regulator and the final choice…Do you understand?”  

You nodded again. “Entiendo...pero al mismo tiempo no lo hago.” [I understand...but at the same time I do not.] You said a little hesitantly. It wasn’t that you didn’t understand his words as much as you weren’t sure how this was applying to you turning “savage” as previously stated by Black Hat.

You had almost completely forgot that Black Hat was in the room. He had been so quiet this entire time, but he finally stepped back into the conversation.

“How do you not understand it, you fool? As you remain in your poltergeist form your id is becoming stronger and acting as it pleases finding itself as the more powerful one. It is making you think you are the most powerful being in this household, but you know full well that is not true..!” He thundered with some irritation in his voice. 

You flinched back and Flug quickly began speaking again. 

“Your id is beginning to overpower your super ego as you remain in this form, suppressing all of your thoughts and eliminating the balance because of a superiority complex with these newly given powers...that is really the best way of explaining the concept of the poltergeist id. We aren’t saying you actually are self-centered and seeing any of us as inferior, but your id has recognized these immense powers that have been given with becoming a poltergeist...do you understand…?”

You gulped at sat down letting everything sink in, reflecting on the monster you were slowly being unwillingly morphed into by these abilities you used just to have a little “fun” being an annoyance. You had always done so because you had been oddly compelled to do so...this explained all of that. And the strange, foreign dark feeling in the back of your mind, that was ever present and took control now had a name. 

“Así que realmente estoy ... ¿perder el control de mis acciones ...?” [So I really am...losing control of my actions…?]

Flug didn’t have to say anything. He just looked down. 

You weren’t too sure how to feel now...to think this entire time not only were you slowly losing the connection with your body and the ability to feel pain, but you were also losing control over your emotions and the divisions of your mind. Your cool personality that tried to stay optimistic began to shatter and you wore a face of despair.

At this rate...it was as though you were never going to return home and you would lose all of yourself. 

Of all of the people to be like this...why was it you that had to have that very bad day? Why did things always turn down such an unfortunate path? 

“...there is a way to stop this.” 

You looked up to the dark raspy voice speaking down to you. You snapped out of it piqued by the possible solution. 

Black Hat gave a wide toothy grin and offered out a hand. “Give me your soul, my dear, and I will be able to free you from this torment~” 

You sat there with a shocked expression and looked utterly dismayed at him and almost revolted. 

“No.”

There was a moment of silence and Flug sat in anxiety waiting for his boss to explode. 

Black Hat snarled and looked more ready to pounce than a cheetah that was chasing a gazelle than finally ran out of energy. “Fine.” He growled and promptly moved his hand back behind his back. 

“Suit yourself. The only other way to prevent the savage side from coming out is finding your body and  _ maybe _ getting back inside successfully, but that is less than likely. Or finding some purpose that will give you a grip to reality which is  _ even more  _ unlikely. My offer is a generous one, so I suggest you think before you speak next time, you pathetic ghost.” He then gave one last sinister glance and vanished from the room. 

So that’s why he had stayed this whole time...he wanted to take your soul while you were down…

“Que cabron...puta…” [What the fuck...bitch..] You muttered once Black Hat was gone. 

“Y/n! Watch your words! Sometimes I can’t tell if you have a death wish or something..!” Flug said in small panic and worry Black Hat may have heard. 

You kicked your feet off of the edge of the bed. You needed more time to think and just be alone. Or maybe even something to take your mind off of this matter. You sighed and looked over to Flug, whose eyes were still on you.  

He was giving you some look of pity.

Flug looked to you with soft eyes as though he cared for the poltergeist and didn’t want to see you sad. You were one of his only friends...if you considered yourself his friend too. 

“Look...y/n…” 

But it was too late. Before he could say anything, you left out of the room, floating downwards to your quiet spot in the basement which you had made your room and haven. 

Flug swallowed what he was going to say and sighed instead. He understood what it was like to be in this new environment. He knew you were having it rough. 

But he knew not to disturb you...

For now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologies if this chapter seems a little shorter, but I wanted to include a lot of information and the explanation behind all of the behavior of the reader and I know it can be a lot to take in for those who don't know all that much about psychology...so apologies if it is a lot! It was quite the information dump! XP


	14. Rompiendo Física

For the rest of the night you remained in the basement. You didn’t want to come out yet since you weren’t feeling yourself. Besides, by now everyone should be sleeping and the manor would just be eerily quiet. No use in exploring that. 

Even if it was the so-called “witching-hour” and even though you were a ghost you still went, “aw hell nah” to the eerie shit.

As you had been staying here at Black Hat’s residence, you felt the need to wreck things and cause problems. You acted upon these desires just to make yourself known, starting with your army of toast soldiers, but now everything you had done, every annoyance you performed for the sake of doing so seemed to have lost its purpose...the more bad you did the stronger this id of yours was becoming… 

But at the same time…

It was fun. 

It defined your place in the manor in a sense...

Maybe if you were a nuisance but you found another purpose other than “because it was fun?” 

_ No...because I want to do it and that would be an excuse.. _

You flopped onto the couch, but accidentally floated right through it and flopped on the ground, forgetting to mention in your mind you wanted to be on the couch and not the ground. It didn’t hurt of course...so you just stayed there on the ground in a heap. 

You let out a disgruntled, irritated sigh. You definitely bruised your body back at Heroibus.

_ Can’t I do anything I enjoy anymore..?  _

Out of curiosity you tried sinking lower in the floor but only got a few inches as everything below you was underground and outside the manor. 

And of course, you still couldn’t leave the manor. 

You wish you could just get out though. Just for a little bit to stretch, go places, get some fresh air that wasn’t polluted by the evil atmosphere of Black Hat. 

Black Hat…

_ He’s such an annoying dick… _

Your thoughts rambled on all of the derogatory things you could think of on the wicked man in a top hat. The list was never ending, but because of its length, the long stream of insults was interrupted by the kind things he had done so far too: he gave back your communicator and he didn’t kill you when you instigated for it (though...he  _ was _ the one who  _ killed you _ in the very beginning). Sure, none of those things were really obviously that nice, but it showed he had a heart...it was just cold, disgusting, ugly, rude, monstrous…

_ Wait...the note…!  _

You suddenly jumped up, floating in the air with a wide eyed expression. You remember how you saved the note and slip of pictures right before he numbed you. He stepped on the note and tore it, but you remember before Flug carried you out, it was still there on the floor..! 

Your head slowly peeked up past the ceiling of the basement and looked around the hallway of the first floor. It was early in the morning and everyone was asleep. 

_ Good…  _

You slowly and cautiously floated up and continued up to the next floor where Black Hat’s office was. You didn’t like coming out of your quarters while it was dark in the manor though and there was no sun out...there was something so eerie about everything. The pictures looked oddly active still and you could feel a cold chill…

Almost as the manor was haunted by something more…

_ Oh...that’s right. I am a ghost. Of course this place is haunted!  _

You laughed to yourself a small bit to keep things light as your head peeked up on the next level. 

_ Hewwo..?  _

You looked around. Nobody was up on this level...

_ Excellent! _

You float up and look to the double doors of the office. The air felt much denser around that room just as it always did. Probably because Black Hat was controlling what came in and out unless he was unconscious. 

It seemed every time you entered his office you had the worst of luck. Your id would just erupt because of something he did...maybe this was not a good idea.

But if the papers were still there this could be your last chance to get them. 

This could be your last chance to retain any information from that book, and maybe even find a clue about how the two brothers separated and maybe something about Heroibus, where your body was. 

And, admittedly _ slightly important _ ...your way of pissing off Black Hat further.

Without another thought, you pushed your body through the double doors and stumbled into the office, squeezing your eyes shut. 

Fearing for the worse and finding your choice to be stupid, you then sank through the floor, eyes still sealed. 

Slowly you opened your eyes and looked around. 

_ Ugh...come on...if you want those papers, you have to get them already!  _ You gave yourself a small motivational speech and then drifted casually back inside the office. 

First think you noticed: no Black Hat.

Instantly all of your worry you previously had felt as if it got pressure washed away and you sighed in relief.  _ That’s one less thing to worry about… _

But now you needed to actually find the papers in this dark office. You could barely see anything in here, which you found to be odd. One difference between your poltergeist sight and your human sight was you could actually see much better in the dark, but you were aware it was still dark. Almost like a strange night vision.

But here in Black Hat’s office everything was out of whack when it came to your abilities. Not only was the air denser, making it harder to drift and move, but it was darker than ever. It was as if you saw with regular ole vision again which was a problem since you needed those papers. 

The only reason you knew there was no Black Hat was because he had a very detectable aura around him or something. You could just sense it and know. 

Just another weird poltergeist ability you assumed. 

Grunting in frustration at your inability in his office, you got down on your hands and knees and felt around for the paper. You could at least see a few feet in front of you, which was better than nothing because at least you were able to avoid hitting your head on some of Black Hat’s all-too-expensive, lavish furniture which was spread all over his office. 

Creeping along the ground, you managed to crawl across the luxurious rug and hear a small crinkle of paper below your ghostly hand. 

_ Bingo! _

You looked down quickly and beamed as you had found the treasure you were looking for. It was torn and in the same condition and spot as when you last saw it, just as you had hoped. You smiled proudly to yourself and gather the two halves of the ripped paper and the slip of photos you previously saved. 

_ Now to retreat~! _

Without wasting time you hold tightly to the papers and speed out of there, hating the feeling of being inside that freaky office. 

Suddenly, there was a tug on your arm and your eyes widened as your body dangled loosely and your hands on the paper were still in the office. It had completely slipped your mind that you could not pass through anything with a solid object, not even something as light as paper. You would have to unlock the door and walk back to the basement like a “normal person.” 

_ Shit.  _

You grunt and just stay there, holding on to the papers and hanging from the ceiling of the first floor. You didn’t want to have to unlock the door...you would be caught way too quickly; Black Hat would hear you and pounce on you, tearing you apart like a psychotic, hungry hyena. 

_ This is a predicament… _

You swing your body side to side, bored out of your mind, but also not having the will to simply let go of the papers; that was the whole reason you even came out of the basement. It was a damn shame. 

You try to pull the papers down, but instead you were doing pull ups with the paper acting like a weighted bar on the floor of Black Hat’s office. At least this was giving you some exercise. Who knows...do reps of this a day and you may go back to your body looking buffer. 

That is...if you ever made it back to your body. 

Sadder thoughts and questions flooded into your mind again and you stopped with the paper pull ups and swinging, feeling yourself go limp as you held on. Your head drooped and looked to the floor of the living room below. 

This isn’t what you wanted…

Becoming a poltergeist. 

It seemed initially fun but now...it made you yearn for your body. It made you yearn for your family...hugging them, eating with them, sleeping in your bed, going to the bar, having some margarita shooters…

You just wanted to do what all you did before. 

Going on walks around the block, not being cooped in a basement, not having to worry about accidentally colliding with someone and being attached to them, being able to just walk out a room with papers without the worry someone will kill you…

You furrowed your brows.

_ Well...no one can kill me when I’m like this...but if I lose the link to my body entirely...I may as well be de- _

Suddenly you felt yourself move downwards slowly, jerking your thoughts to the side. Your focus went back up to the ceiling. You ever so slightly began to see more and more or your wrist and hands, that were still clutching on to the papers. Your eyes widen.

_ Wait...what the fu- _

You were unable to complete your thought as your hands slipped entirely, still securely gripping the papers. As your body completely slid past the floor of the office and into the other room, you plummeted quickly down, screaming like a banshee as you fell by, quickly going through the first floor and sailing with speed to the basement. 

_ Hang on...I can float! _

Inches away from the ground of the basement, you begin to levitate, your eyes not wanting to open. 

Steadily, trying to control your shaking from the scare you open your eyes, right by the floor. You take a few shaky breaths and then roll over onto the floor gingerly as though you were a baby. 

_ That could have been bad for my body… _

Even though you wouldn’t have felt much pain, hell knows what kind of damage that would have done to all of your bones.

After taking a moment to let the shock wash over, you slowly let your senses direct over to the papers in your hands. 

“ ¿Funcionó ...?” [It worked…?] 

You lift your hands over to your face and see you have the papers. You stay paralyzed on the ground slightly dismayed. All the laws of physics said this was impossible..! Every historical scientists had to be utterly aghast right now. 

_ Did I just...break physics?  _

Sure, you weren’t human anymore, but even for the amount of time you had spent in this poltergeist form you  _ knew  _ you couldn’t just alter molecules of a solid object...maybe stronger entities and asshole eldritches could pull this sort of stunt, but you....? That was beyond your capabilities.

At least...that’s what you thought. 

_ Maybe this is just another unexplainable poltergeist ability..?  _

You shake it off. Of course that was it…

If you had further questions, you could just ask Flug, but this is nothing to worry about. Just another day in the life of a poltergeist. 

You sit up and then, reflecting on your accomplishment, beam again with radiating pride.  _ Perfect~!  _

You were about to read the first sentence of the note, but didn’t get any further than Black Hat’s name before the door slammed open. Frantically, you hid the papers under the couch. 

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, Y/N?!” Black Hat roared down at you from the top of the staircase which led down to your position on the floor. 

You furrowed your brow and looked at him with a questioning gaze. 

“DON’T GIVE ME THAT BLOODY INNOCENT LOOK! WHY THE HELL DID YOU SCREAM THROUGH THE ENTIRE DAMN MANOR?!”  

“Oooohh…” You remember with some nodding. 

_ That’s right...I did scream when I fell didn’t I..? _

“Ah, lo siento. No pensé que te importara.” [Ah, sorry. I didn’t think you cared.] You said waving your action off. 

“NOT CARE?! YOU FUCKING BI-” 

Demencia jumped past him quickly and scrambled over to you as if she genuinely worried about you. You wondered how Black Hat understood you when you spoke, but your mind couldn’t focus on that, as now Dementia's mouth was racing with words. 

“Holy crap! Are you okay!? Also, can you teach me to scream like that?!  _ THAT WAS COOL!  _ It sounded like the cries and agonizing screams of the dead coming to drag and condemn lost souls to hell!” She excitedly described your plummeting scream of terror. 

_ Wait...was it really that loud?  _

Black Hat quickly read your mind and delivered his thundering, enraged response. “ _ YES IT WAS, YOU BLOODY POLTERGEIST! Y̖͉̣̮͚̰̗OU̸ ̦͜W̱̳̖͢ͅO͈̙̺K̬E ͏̻̠̼̗̭͍ͅM̪̹̼̮̭͈͞E̯̫ ̥͔̬̥͈̭͢F̡̙̣̭̬̦͓̟R͚̱͚̮O̶̟̮̜M̺̺̤̻͇̻͕ ̱̻̘̹͙M̧̟̰̱̞̦̦Y̻͞ ̧̬̦̬̳̼͉̙S̤̼̘̜͚̠̭L̩̮͉̩̩E҉͚-̧̖̪̝̪̯̟”  _

“S-sir!” Flug interrupted, squeezing past him, not minding his bosses angered face, and ran over to you. He pushed Demencia to the side slightly to which she pushed his shoulder back and stuck out her tongue. He gave her a small glare and turned to you again. 

“Y/n, are you alright?! That sounded like a death cry! What happened..?” 

You sat there trying to process and translate all the words being thrown to you, but your mind was a bit slow. Your eyes darted between everyone.

“Y-yo…” 

No... You couldn’t tell them! But you need to say something to them…

“...I h-had...a...n-night…” 

_ Ugh...what’s that compound word?? It’s an animal...UH.. _

“...N-nighthorse.” 

Everything fell silent for a moment. 

“You mean a ‘nightmare’?” Flug asked. 

“..yes.” You nod once. 

_ Close enough.  _

Black Hat made a disgusted face, not buying your obvious bull shit. “Ghost and undead entities like yourself don’t need sleep, idiot. You need a better excuse than that.” 

You gulped and opened your mouth to say more but you were silenced by another voice. 

“Actually sir, sometimes poltergeist go through chronic issues when their mind is still attached to their physical brain, one in which the brain wave’s in their mind spike and increase suddenly, causing them to undergo occipital hallucinations. It’s quite common and terrifying as they can relive traumatizing moments of their past or imagine the most twisted scenarios.” 

You held your tongue as Flug nobly defended your false statement.

“...heh. Nerd.” Demencia chuckled. 

_ That’s a thing…?!  _

Your thoughts with some genuine worry for what may happen in the future. You remember Black Hat can read thoughts and you quickly begin to go with it. 

_ W-well...I guess that was why I suddenly thought about...that wicked grade school teacher. That was a nasty nightmare hallucination thingy…They looked even uglier and more terrifying in that thingy since it seemed like they were some residue of something Godzilla chewed up and spit out… _

You quickly thought up something. That was disturbing enough to make you shudder too.

Black Hat frowned, despising being corrected, especially by his numbskull doctor. “Alright. Shut up. I got it.” He then turned slowly over to you with a malicious, intense glare. “I’ve had enough trouble from  _ you especially today.”  _

“En realidad señor, es un nuevo día ahora…” [Actually sir, it is a new day now…] You mutter, speaking back with minor saltiness. 

Black Hat growled lowly, his fist in balls, and his eye twitching as he heard your snide response. He was ready to claw your smug little face into paper shreds…

Flug quickly acted, lifting you up and walking you over to the couch. You were a bit started as he picked you up again, but you trusted he wouldn’t drop you. Even if he looked like his fragile bones may snap with 50 pounds of weight on his back, you hardly weighed a thing in this form. 

“¿dejarás de instigar!” [Will you stop instigating!] He whisper-hissed to you as he set you down on the couch. 

You knew it was his way of relaying his message to you privately without Black Hat eavesdropping, but you worried slightly. For some reason, Black Hat seemed to be picking up more of what you were saying...but he didn’t hear Flug you assumed, as there was no noticeable reaction or indication he understood. 

As you looked away from Black Hat, your eyes trailed to Demencia. She was wiggling her eyebrows and smiling broadly at you. At first you were confused as to why, but then you realized Flug was still leaning over you. You flushed as you noticed and looked off to the side. 

“Estoy bien, ok!” [I’m fine, okay!] You barked at the bagged man. 

Flug stumbled back a bit shocked from your sudden loud response. “O-okay!” 

You instantly felt bad as the crowd cleared away and began to leave your quarters. They weren’t going to go back to bed now...but it was also too early to function properly. 

Black Hat found this to be one of  _ the worst  _ annoyances you pulled yet. 

Demencia still wanted to know how you screamed like that...but you weren’t too sure either…

And Flug… you felt awful for snapping at him, but you couldn’t help it since you were all to flustered from Dementia's background actions. 

That wasn’t burdening your mind too much though. He would get over it. 

Now all you wondered about was the information in the papers you saved! 

You rolled off the couch and reached your hand underneath it. Your hand frantically hit around the floor for the thin slips of success but…

There was nothing. 

_ What…?? _

You sat up for a moment and snapped your fingers. 

“Levantar!” You give the couch the command and it obeys. 

Searching in frustration, you let out a groan. It wasn’t there anymore. 

_ I know what I saw…! Where is it??  _

Your mind tried to sift around for a logical explanation. It couldn’t have all been some hallucination...! You fell and you had the papers in your hands; they were right there...right in front of you! You already blew up the minds of the deceased father of physics with your unexplainable phenomenons... _ now this?! _

“Mierda.” [Shit.] 

You flopped back on the ground. You didn’t understand anything about these paranormal capabilities…

_ Just another poltergeist predicament.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I just wanna say: Happy Anniversary to Alien Affections, Haxorus~! (yes, yes, I am aware that it was June 1st, BUT STILL!)  
> As I have mentioned, Alien Affections is the fanfic that really made me wanna get into writing and try to do something great with it, so I just wanna say thank you and that I'm so proud at how well it has gone for you~! You are a great and inspiring person! ^^  
> I hope this story is still seen as a nice enough gift for you both <3


	15. Otra Mañana

Once it was earlier in the day you drifted to the kitchen. 505 was preparing breakfast, but he still looked incredibly tired. He must have woken up after your screaming fall too...poor baby.

“Buenos dias, 5.0.5…” [Good morning, 5.0.5...] You said with some disappointment in your voice as you floated to a chair and sat down. You had recently begun joining in on more meals with everyone; what else was there to do? 

You could just rampage and cause annoyances all the time, but you didn’t want to push too much since it would begin to affect your id and after a while continuously pulling nuisances would become slightly boring to you, and that would be a real shame. 

The cyan bear, though clearly tired, acknowledged your presence with a “BAROO” and a happy smile.

Flug casually walked into the kitchen with a blue mug of coffee decorated in F-22 model planes in one hand and some blue prints in the other hand. His eyes widened when he saw you and he quickly put the blueprints down on the table in the other room. 

“O-oh! Y/n! I wasn’t expecting you to be here!” He walked over to the table and placed his coffee mug down in the spot across from you. “I just wanted to say sorry if I...you know, made you uncomfortable earlier..! IswearIdidn’tmeantoIjustgotsonervousaboutyourconditionandIwassostartledwhenyou-”

“Oye..! ¡Cálmese!” [Hey! Calm down!] He was talking so quickly now you could barely understand him. Furthermore, it was nothing to feel guilty about; it wasn’t his fault. Demencia was the one making faces behind his back.

“S-sorry…” Flug replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Wh-what I meant was I didn’t mean to make you feel uneasy if you did…” 

“No es tu culpa.” [It’s not your fault.] You simply said and gave him a calm smile to tell him it was okay.

Suddenly there was a small tear of paper coming from the other room. 

“Oopsie~” 

That was the signature sound of Demencia's very renowned “I just wrecked something of yours on purpose” word. 

Flug frantically turned his head and saw her with the blueprints he had just set down. “DEMENCIA! STOP IT!” He ran over and yanked them out of her hands quickly, wrinkling them slightly and scanning the paper for damage. The small tear was at the top and was only about three inches. 

“Demencia! These are very important plans to me! Don’t touch them!” 

She blinked and looked over at them again. “Looks like a robot. You already made a bunch of those things and they are stupid and always explode after they serve their purpose. It’s not that-” 

“Shut up!” Flug snapped at her. He seemed genuinely peeved and flustered. You looked at his change in character, blinking. Demencia seemed to do the same, shrinking back for a moment.

“O...kay…” Demencia said, backing into the kitchen, away from the scientist. 

Flug started walking away with the blueprints, leaving temporarily to put them in a safer place, away from deranged girls like Demencia.

She noticed you at the table and slid over to you with a huge smile. “Hey there, ghostie goo! Can you teach me how to do a death scream too~?” 

You sighed and looked to her, your brows slightly furrowed as you thought for a moment on how to reply. “I...told you already...I know not. I just did.” 

She still looked confused, tilting her head to the side. “Well, you can teach me still eventually~!” 

You watched her jump up and across the room to 5.0.5. The poor creature looked frightened half to death as the girl pounced on him, almost knocking him over.

“What’s the noms today, bear?!” She shouted to him, looking at what he was preparing. “Oooooh...honey pancakes~! Don’t make mine too sweet again though, that makes it taste too...nice.”

5.0.5. looked at her with an upset and annoyed face and made a small grunt, wanting her to get off of him.

Yup. It was definitely a wonderful morning at the manor.   

“ _ Hello, poltergeist. _ ” Said a very raspy, salty voice suddenly from behind you. Had you not been considered dead already you would have been scared to death. Why must Black Hat always make the most irksome entrance?

“...hi.” You say flatly as he walked past you and grimaced over at Demencia and 5.0.5. He made a disgusting sounding, low grunt at them and they both quickly moved to the side.

“Damn honey pancakes…” He growled as he walked to the refrigerator and took out some kind of meat. “I’m having this instead of the _ disgusting sweet flat wheat content you are trying to pass as edible substance _ .” He insulted 5.0.5. who’s face grew ever sadder.

Flug walked back into the kitchen and jumped at the sight of his boss. “S-sir! Y-you are awake…!” 

Black Hat growled again and looked up at Flug with a penetrating stare. “ _ No...really?  _ I thought maybe this was a nightmare.” He slammed a steak knife down into the lump of mysterious meat. The bags under his eyes were heavy and he appeared much grumpier than usual. Maybe not more threatening, but pretty damn scary.

_ Damn...who knew eldritches needed their beauty rest...not that it does much for Captain Happy over there… _

Black Hat’s head slowly turned itself in your direction - you could almost feel the creak in his neck - his visible pupil a slit. He was ready to tear you limb to transparent limb. 

You gulped and smiled nervously. 

“Hehe...l-looking...beautiful...jefe.” You gave a thumbs up to conceal your “please don’t kill me like this” expression. 

“HEY! ONLY I CALL BLACKIE BEAUTIFUL!” Demencia shouted from across the room. Black Hat hissed and she immediately shut up and jumped behind 5.0.5.

You shouldn’t have thought that…

“A-anyway…!” Flug quickly interjected, saving you temporarily but directing the room’s focus to him. He actually had nothing to say, but didn’t want you to be torn apart.

“H-have you….heard of... the Sukhoi Su-57? Сухой Су-57 isthedesignationforastealth,single-seat,twin-enginemultirolefifth-generationjetfighterbeingdevelopedforairsuperiorityandattackoperations-” 

“ **_SHUT UP WILL YOU?!_ ** ” Black Hat roared and sighed in a disturbed and annoyed manner. He hated when Flug nerded out over planes like this.

You looked to Flug surprised: he really saved your ass and sacrificed his...! You gave him a smile and small thumbs up.

He rubbed the back of his neck and sat down across from you at the table. His neck was a little red, but regardless he was smiling even though he had just been snapped at, judging by the crease on his bag. 

5.0.5. carefully stepped passed Black Hat and placed down two plates of honey pancakes, one in front of Flug and the other where Demencia was about to sit. Before you had another second to think, you noticed a blur of green pass by from across the kitchen and leapt straight into the chair, shaking the breakfast around in her mouth.

“Demencia...stop it before you choke.” Flug huffed and placed a piece of the honey pancake under his bag to eat. 

5.0.5. came back with two more plates and placed one in front of you with a large grin. You looked at him with a thankful smile and tried to hide your shifting. You really didn’t need to eat… 

“Uh...gracias…!” [Uh...thanks…!] 

The happy bear smiled and made a giddy noise, placing the last plate in front of his own seat and sitting down. Black Hat just stayed by the counter and chowed down on the mysterious meat….you weren’t too sure if you wanted to know what it was…

Flug cleared his throat after taking a bite. “So...y/n, it’s been a whole week since you’ve been here with us…” 

Demencia looked up and choked on her pancake for a minute. “WOW! YOU’VE STAYED LONGER THAN ANY OTHER GHOSTY~!” She clapped and then smacked you on the back. Much to your surprise she actually hit you and you tensed up. 

Now that it was said though...it was pretty interesting. Of course, you weren’t too sure how long other entities who had been separated from their bodies had stayed here, but nonetheless this has been quite... _ an experience.  _

_ One that I wish I could re-gift to someone I hate… _

Sure, there were lighter moments, but this week had felt like an utter mess. Even worse it dragged and felt like forever. You just wanted to go home to be honest and not have to worry about the world’s worst villain… 

But at the same time... _ you have survived a whole week! _ That’s actually kinda an accomplishment…? 

You chuckled. “...Yeah.” 

“Got anything planned to celebrate~? Are you gonna wreck something in the manor~?” Demencia poked your shoulder with a wide grin on her face.

“ _ Don’t give the bloody poltergeist any ideas _ .” Black Hat hissed.

Suddenly... _ light bulb. _

Your eyes lit up and your mind thought up a spectacular idea! As the longest staying entity here, this called for some large elaborate nuisance…!

“ _ DON’T YOU DARE THINK ABOUT DUCT TAPING MY CANE TO THE CEILING…!”  _ Black Hat roared out.

Everyone fell silent again and looked between you and Black Hat. Damn him. Why must he read minds?

“...hehehe...what you mean? Nooo…” You said like the thought that popped into your head in which he called you out on was just a joke. His glare was unwavering as he continued gnawing on the meat, much to your discomfort. You slowly look away from him and down at your food.

You would just need to wait before thinking of something genius to do.

Flug actually appeared to give a chuckle at your weak previous statement and a crease showed up where the corner of his mouth would be. 

“ _ What’s so humorous, doctor?”  _ Black Hat’s venomous tone seemed to have no cease. Damn was he snappy this morning. Never wake this guy so early in the morning again…

“N-n-nothing…! I-I uh, I just...I need to g-go back to the lab now!” Flug stood up in a rush, picking up his plate of half eaten honey pancakes and rushed over to put it by the sink knowing 5.0.5. would clean it afterwards. Before Black Hat could say anything more, he scrambled out of there…

...Definitely with a purpose. He was up to something and you knew it, and it piqued your curiosity. 

“Oooh! Can I eat the rest of your pancake, Flug?!” Demencia called across the house to him.

“Sure…” You could hear his call lightly with the hurried footsteps growing further. To which Demencia greedily dug into the remainder of the plate. 

As she gobbled it all down, you very discreetly slid your plate closer to her so she could snarf down yours too and you wouldn’t have to feel bad about wasting 5.0.5.’s generous cooking...not that the deranged girl was really enjoying and savoring it as much as inhaling it…

When your eyes looked back to the side, you thought you caught a glimpse of Black Hat staring at you...but he was looking to the side now, occupied with his... _ dish… _

“Okay...thank you for the food, but I...am going to...stretch for a bit now, thank you.” You manage some decent english and give a small polite bow of your head. That was the good thing about staying here, it was really improving your english though some parts may sound repetitive or choppy.

You went down to the basement really quickly and looked around on the floor. It still amazed you about the events of last night - the fact that you had the papers but suddenly it was gone. Maybe it was a question for Flug? Or maybe…! 

You dashed up to the second floor, flying through the first in a blur. Why had you not seen it before?! Black Hat was distracted and not in his office, so you could go in and see if maybe the papers were back there..! 

You paused outside the door.

But then again...Black Hat could sense if you went in...what if he knew your intentions…? You had to look over your shoulder from the paranoia, but all that was in the hall were the pictures, which seemed to lack their ombinous eye following appearance. Maybe that meant he didn’t know, but still you stood there looking, expecting them to move as soon as you turned around.

With a suck of oxygen, you went through the door and checked to make sure it was unlocked from the inside with a small twist of the knob. Just as suspected, it was locked from the outside, but open from the inside. Easing your way in, the first detail you noticed: 

_ The papers! _

Right on the floor like from last night: there they were; the letter and the slip of photos. You almost felt like letting out a confused scoff. 

“Qu é diablos…” [What the hell…] You muttered while stepping in, your flabbergasted emotion suppressing itself from completely showing on the outside, but it was all over your brain. 

You bend over and picked up the papers, just standing there a moment and looking. This made last night seem...pointless. This was so easy. 

“Bueno, seré condenado.” [Well, I’ll be damned.] 

“You sure the hell will be.” 

You screamed and almost threw the papers up in the air, but instead in a not-so-graceful manner, you spun around and hid the papers behind your back, giving a nervous smile to the threatening man.

“BLACK HAT!” You shouted in shock and then coughed, stumbling to recover yourself, hands still tightly on the papers behind your back. “ ¡Es tan agradable verte aquí! ¿Tomaste un buen desayuno?” [It’s so nice to see you here! Did you have a good breakfast?]

Black Hat lumed over you and rolled his eyes making a _ tch  _ with his mouth. “How uncharacteristicly kind, y/n.” He said in a flat manner. “Your recovery is weak.  _ Why are you here? Not taking my cane are you?” _

You blinked a little confused, but then you remembered at breakfast…! 

_ Ooohh...he thinks I’m taking the cane…! _

“...hehehee...Got me…” You laughed and backed away slowly, finger gunning him. His glare held steady along with the bag under his eye and a twitch. 

With one last smile, your ass got the fuck outta there with the papers, dashing through the door and down the hall.  

You were astounded. You actually did it. 

_ And all because Black Hat was too tired to notice you had the papers.  _

_ He must have felt so cocky catching you “trying to take the cane.”  _

Part of you wanted to cackle, but you would save that until you were in your safe domain. Wow, what an ego stroke! You mean, sure, it wasn’t the greatest accomplishment, but the fact that he was so oblivious and your performance was so lame... _ and you managed to get the papers anyway…! _

You finally let out a happy squeaky sounding noise when you reached the basement. That was so close and frightening...but also the greatest feeling…! You quickly looked at the papers and…!

“...EH?!” 

The papers were replaced with a single piece of paper reading: “NICE TRY, IDIOT.” 

“...Mierda.” [...Shit.]

You threw the paper aside. All the joy...all that ego inflation…

What a waste. What a punch in the gut. 

_ Talk about a mood bitch slap. _

You floated up the stairs and out the door and Black Hat was right outside with a wide pale green cocky ass smug little grin. You didn’t do anything but huff and drift away slowly. 

Turns out Black Hat had a few discouraging pranks up his formal sleeves too.

Not looking back, you continued on your way down the hallway all the way to lab. You were still curious as to what Flug was doing after all.

...and needed to forget about what just happened…

Flug had been in a rush at breakfast this morning and seemed to be a little scattered. He was probably working on something for the organization...but he actually seemed... _ excited _ to be working, so maybe it was one of his personal side projects?

You were about to float in, but remember how anxious the poor scientist was and decided to knock instead. 

Flug was working on another robot, specifically the model one that was on the blueprints Demencia slightly tore this morning. He was grateful he managed to catch her before she could completely rip it though; he spent almost all of yesterday working on it! 

It was not complete, but one could tell it was a Hat Bot of sorts, and he was determined to make this despite his busy schedule. This Hat Bot was going to be much different; he was going to be sure it didn’t have a destruct button or any sort of explosion mode. For the purpose it was serving, it wouldn’t need one. It also wouldn’t need to be controlled or take commands. 

This was so much more different indeed. 

He heard a knock on the door and he paused his concentration. Why would 5.0.5. come by now? He assumed it was 5.0.5. at least as that was the only one who ever bothered knocking.

The doctor placed down his tools and made his way to the door, not dragging his feet; he was a busy man. He was a little startled however as instead of a cyan bear, the poltergeist of the mansion was in front of him. 

“Y/n!” He stepped out a little and closed the door more, looking over his shoulder nervously. “Wh-what brings you…?” 

You blinked and tilted your head to look inside of the lab, and noticed how he instantly moved his head to try and block your vision. You looked at him in a questioning manner.

“I uh...I-I’m working on a...p-pres...project for yo- enjoyment...heh…” He stuttered trying not to give anything away, but it was a little late for that. “Yeah…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was trying to keep it a surprise but...I was a little obvious right there…” 

“¡Esta bien! Estoy emocionado de escuchar eso..!” [That is good! I am excited to hear that…!] You said in an instantly more perky manner. 

So that’s why he was so eager to get down to the lab! You puzzle to yourself about what it is he is making and why he would want to make you anything more - he already made you a communicator after all, and it helped a lot. You were trying not to use it as much since you were determined to learn more english on your own from being around it, but it was so thoughtful and was a great reference!

Flug grabbed the back of his neck and gave some more nervous laughter. “I’m not too sure when I will have it complete, but at the rate I’m going maybe I can finish it by tomorrow so you won’t have to wait much longer…”

“T oma todo el tiempo que necesites! No necesitas hacer nada por mí, sabes …” [Take as much time as you need! You don’t need to do anything for me, you know…] You reply.

“O-Oh I know! I just figured...you know...it would h-help you adjust in here…” He looked up to you, the look in his eyes becoming a little more serious. 

“I know that suddenly going from where you used to live to this environment is a big change...and you probably didn’t want any of this to happen to you either. This is only a temporary solution that I am working on, so I hope it will work well....”

You nodded your head, still wanting to know exactly what this invention was, but not prying much deeper. 

Ever since you had got here (against your will) the week had felt so fictional almost. Nothing felt real anymore. Even though if had only been seven days, today being your eighth, for everything that had happened and the connections you made, it felt so much longer. Of course, you knew that wasn’t true; you only had a maximum of a month after all.  

Flug was very kind and considerate to you, even though he was the world’s most wanted, notorious scientist. It confused you greatly. You thought he was more threatening than this, at least, that’s how he was portrayed in society. 

Maybe he was being this way to stay on your good side and remain your friend in case you actually did go…”savage.”

But for as kind as his actions were, you didn’t want to admit that you didn’t want these gifts to help adjust. You just wanted to get back to your own body. That would be the greatest help of all.

“Gracias, Flug. Supongo que debería dejarte así ... además, tengo algo planeado para hoy~!” [Thank you, Flug. I suppose I should leave you to it then...besides, I have something planned for today~!] Your mood bounced up along with your form. So maybe you couldn’t duct tape Black Hat’s cane, but you had something even better in mind now!

“Oh dear…” Flug knew that look and had a small feeling of dread run through him. Hopefully it wasn’t anything too bad, especially not with how Black Hat’s mood was today. “Are you...sure doing anything like what you have planned it a good ide-”

He looked up to meet your eyes, but they weren’t there. They were gone with yourself and your mischievous glow the next instance. 

“Please don’t do anything stupid, y/n...” He said with a sigh and then retreated back in the lab to work on your gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy...I am so sorry about not being frequent with updates as I had planned. Between work and reports I didn't have much time to do really anything I had planned. This chapter is just to kinda ease back into the story and is pretty casual with sprinkled important details.   
> I'm gonna continue to update at least once a month because I swear I'm not gonna abandon this work. Once again, sorry for the scattered and very infrequent updating. ;^^   
> If you do wanna ask me more questions about how this fic is going or just want a conversation, you can message my tumblr or leave an ask. Thank you for actually bearing with me :D

**Author's Note:**

> When I first found this site, I wanted to read a good Villainous fanfiction, being an extremely dedicated fan to the works of Alan Ituriel and curious to see others takes on the miraculous work of art. In that time, I came across Alien Affections by Haxorus. The incredible detail and wonderful plot inspired me to work to create my own in hopes maybe I could write as well. However, that wasn’t exactly the case: writing stories doesn’t just come second hand to me. I discovered developing an outline and setting a planned story would have turned out much better. Unfortunately...I was out of ideas and not sure what I could write despite wanting to. The idea came to mind suddenly from a conversation I had in the comments area of Smiling Expression with MissFluffQueen: create a story about the reader being able to understand two languages, but only being able to speak one.  
> Both of these authors are not only amazingly talented, but very motivational; sometimes without even meaning to be! I want to thank the two of them so much for driving me forward and pushing me to formulate ideas. So I’m gifting this story to them. I’m not sure how much they will enjoy this, but I wanted some form of gratitude to be displayed in some way and I thought, “How about a gift?”  
> As mentioned in my profile, “My family is extremely interracial and I'm hella mixed.” My dominant language is english, being raised in the United States, however much of my mother’s family is Latino and can speak fluently in both english and spanish. From a young age, I had begun to Spanglish and interchangeably use english and spanish dialect. As I grew though this habit was corrected, and now I speak english only. I can read and write fluently in spanish, but when it comes to speaking it is hard for me to properly formulate sentences in my head and project them at the same time. This is why I decided to make a reader who can comprehend both spanish and english, however the reader can not speak english fluently and must rely on solely spanish for oral communication.  
> Once again, "Thank you Haxorus and MissFluffQueen both!"
> 
> Hey! I got a Tumblr now! (Still not 100% sure how to work it but I'm getting there!) Here it is: https://zretribution.tumblr.com/  
> Feel free to message me if you so wish and thank you for reading the story!


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